K. P. P. Madhushani, H. M. P. A. Subasinghe, R. Fonseka, T. Sivananthawerl
Black pepper (Piper nigrum L.), is a woody perennial climbing plant belonging to family Piperaceae and the most consumed spice in the world. Although the support tree Gliricidia (Gliricidia sepium) is pruned 3 to 4 times per year, pepper vines are not annually pruned in Sri Lanka. The characteristic cylindrical compact canopy of pepper is inefficient in intercepting solar radiation compared to most other vine crops. Therefore, this study was conducted to investigate the effect of different canopy pruning practices on the Photosynthetically Active Radiation (PAR) interception efficiency of the plant canopy and its effect on the yield. Four treatments on pruning practices were compared to each other. Treatments were, T1 – Control (no pruning); T2 - maintaining cone-shaped canopy by pruning only the plagiotropic branches; T3 - partial pruning of lateral branches of only the upper half (layer 1 and layer 2) of the canopy; and T4 - removal of 25% of lateral branches allowing uniform distribution of sunlight all over the canopy (loose canopy). The results revealed that T2 and T4 pruning methods significantly improved the yield (P<0.05) compared to T1 and T3. Hence, both modifying the cone-shaped canopy and maintaining a loose canopy all over the plant are better pruning practices to maximize yield through efficient PAR absorption. Therefore, adopting either of these pruning methods can be recommended as better practices for farmers to maximize their crop yield.
{"title":"Modified Canopy Architecture Enhanced Yield of Black Pepper (Piper nigrum L.) through High Absorption and Distribution of Photosynthetically Active Radiation (PAR)","authors":"K. P. P. Madhushani, H. M. P. A. Subasinghe, R. Fonseka, T. Sivananthawerl","doi":"10.4038/tar.v35i3.8788","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4038/tar.v35i3.8788","url":null,"abstract":"Black pepper (Piper nigrum L.), is a woody perennial climbing plant belonging to family Piperaceae and the most consumed spice in the world. Although the support tree Gliricidia (Gliricidia sepium) is pruned 3 to 4 times per year, pepper vines are not annually pruned in Sri Lanka. The characteristic cylindrical compact canopy of pepper is inefficient in intercepting solar radiation compared to most other vine crops. Therefore, this study was conducted to investigate the effect of different canopy pruning practices on the Photosynthetically Active Radiation (PAR) interception efficiency of the plant canopy and its effect on the yield. Four treatments on pruning practices were compared to each other. Treatments were, T1 – Control (no pruning); T2 - maintaining cone-shaped canopy by pruning only the plagiotropic branches; T3 - partial pruning of lateral branches of only the upper half (layer 1 and layer 2) of the canopy; and T4 - removal of 25% of lateral branches allowing uniform distribution of sunlight all over the canopy (loose canopy). The results revealed that T2 and T4 pruning methods significantly improved the yield (P<0.05) compared to T1 and T3. Hence, both modifying the cone-shaped canopy and maintaining a loose canopy all over the plant are better pruning practices to maximize yield through efficient PAR absorption. Therefore, adopting either of these pruning methods can be recommended as better practices for farmers to maximize their crop yield.","PeriodicalId":23313,"journal":{"name":"Tropical agricultural research","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141705369","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
M. A. Madushani, T. Priyadarshani, K. W. A. Madhushan, H. R. G. Tharaka, G. D. N. Menike, P. A. Weerasinghe, U. Sirisena, D. M. D. Dissanayake
Trichoderma spp. widely used as biocontrol agents for controllin g a wide range of plant diseases. Banana anthracnose caused by Colletotrichum musae is a prominent, widely distributed postharvest disease. This study was carried ou t to assess the effectiveness of locally isolated Trichoderma virens against C. musae and the mass producti on of T. virens using locally available, low-cost solid substrates. T. virens was tested for the inhibition of C. musae isolate in -vitro and in-vivo by dual plating and inoculating into two varieties of ripened banana: Kolikuttu and Cavendish, respectively. For mass production, T. virens was inoculated into different solid substrates including scraped coconut waste, sawdust, tea waste, seeds from rice, finger millet, and maize, dried pieces of water hyacinth plant, paddy straw, and Panicum maximum leaves; regularly taken spore co unts (cfu/g) and checked for viability by plating after 12 weeks of storage. The pathogen inhibition percentag e by T. virens was 74.10%. Disease severity was 0% in Kolikuttu and 19% in Cavendish after 5 days of T. virens spore appli cation (1x107 spores/ml). Significantly higher (p≤0.05) mean spore production resulted in rice seeds (9.345x109 spores/g) compared to the other substrates and the least resulted in sawdust (1.808x109 spores/g) at the 8th week after T. virens inoculation. Spores of T. virens were viable in all the tested substrates throughout the study period. The results conclude that T. virens is capable of controlling banana anthracnose and can be efficiently mass-produced by using rice seeds, dried pieces of P. maximum leaves, and f inger millet seeds as substrates.
{"title":"Solid Formulation of Trichoderma virens for the Management of Banana Anthracnose Caused by Colletotrichum musae","authors":"M. A. Madushani, T. Priyadarshani, K. W. A. Madhushan, H. R. G. Tharaka, G. D. N. Menike, P. A. Weerasinghe, U. Sirisena, D. M. D. Dissanayake","doi":"10.4038/tar.v35i3.8792","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4038/tar.v35i3.8792","url":null,"abstract":"Trichoderma spp. widely used as biocontrol agents for controllin g a wide range of plant diseases. Banana anthracnose caused by Colletotrichum musae is a prominent, widely distributed postharvest disease. This study was carried ou t to assess the effectiveness of locally isolated Trichoderma virens against C. musae and the mass producti on of T. virens using locally available, low-cost solid substrates. T. virens was tested for the inhibition of C. musae isolate in -vitro and in-vivo by dual plating and inoculating into two varieties of ripened banana: Kolikuttu and Cavendish, respectively. For mass production, T. virens was inoculated into different solid substrates including scraped coconut waste, sawdust, tea waste, seeds from rice, finger millet, and maize, dried pieces of water hyacinth plant, paddy straw, and Panicum maximum leaves; regularly taken spore co unts (cfu/g) and checked for viability by plating after 12 weeks of storage. The pathogen inhibition percentag e by T. virens was 74.10%. Disease severity was 0% in Kolikuttu and 19% in Cavendish after 5 days of T. virens spore appli cation (1x107 spores/ml). Significantly higher (p≤0.05) mean spore production resulted in rice seeds (9.345x109 spores/g) compared to the other substrates and the least resulted in sawdust (1.808x109 spores/g) at the 8th week after T. virens inoculation. Spores of T. virens were viable in all the tested substrates throughout the study period. The results conclude that T. virens is capable of controlling banana anthracnose and can be efficiently mass-produced by using rice seeds, dried pieces of P. maximum leaves, and f inger millet seeds as substrates.","PeriodicalId":23313,"journal":{"name":"Tropical agricultural research","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141703849","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
P. O. Sarachchandra, R. S. Dharmakeerthi, A. K. Karunarathna
Plant available potassium (K) content is very low in K-bearing mineral ores present in Sri Lanka and that restrict their use in crop production as K fertilizer sources. Heating of minerals can increase their plant available forms of nutrients. The objective of this experiment was to study the effect of direct heating of K-bearing minerals at different temperatures and co-pyrolyis with poultry litter (PL) at different rates on their total and available K contents. Poultry litter was co-pyrolyzed with 0, 1 and 5% (w/w) of feldspar and mica at 350, 500, 650 and 900 ℃. K-bearing minerals were also directly heated at these temperatures. With direct heating the mineral, total K contents of feldspar (6.2%) and mica (4.5%) were significantly (p<0.001) increased by 10% and 18%, respectively at 500 ℃ and then decreased by 33 and 65%, respectively at 900 ℃. Available K contents in feldspar (0.05%) and in mica (0.03%) either decreased significantly (feldspar) or did not change (mica) upon direct heating. Increasing pyrolysis temperature up to 650 ℃ increased both total (4.2 to 6.4%), and available K (3.2 to 6.1%) contents in poultry litter biochar (PLB). Co-pyrolysis of PL with feldspar or mica at 1 or 5% rates did not improve the total or available K contents in PLB at these temperatures. We concluded that heat treatment of locally available feldspar and mica or co-pyrolyzing them with PL are not effective technologies to increase their utilization in agriculture.
{"title":"Changes in Total and Available K Contents in Feldspar and Mica Co-pyrolyzed with Poultry Litter at Different Temperatures","authors":"P. O. Sarachchandra, R. S. Dharmakeerthi, A. K. Karunarathna","doi":"10.4038/tar.v35i3.8791","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4038/tar.v35i3.8791","url":null,"abstract":"Plant available potassium (K) content is very low in K-bearing mineral ores present in Sri Lanka and that restrict their use in crop production as K fertilizer sources. Heating of minerals can increase their plant available forms of nutrients. The objective of this experiment was to study the effect of direct heating of K-bearing minerals at different temperatures and co-pyrolyis with poultry litter (PL) at different rates on their total and available K contents. Poultry litter was co-pyrolyzed with 0, 1 and 5% (w/w) of feldspar and mica at 350, 500, 650 and 900 ℃. K-bearing minerals were also directly heated at these temperatures. With direct heating the mineral, total K contents of feldspar (6.2%) and mica (4.5%) were significantly (p<0.001) increased by 10% and 18%, respectively at 500 ℃ and then decreased by 33 and 65%, respectively at 900 ℃. Available K contents in feldspar (0.05%) and in mica (0.03%) either decreased significantly (feldspar) or did not change (mica) upon direct heating. Increasing pyrolysis temperature up to 650 ℃ increased both total (4.2 to 6.4%), and available K (3.2 to 6.1%) contents in poultry litter biochar (PLB). Co-pyrolysis of PL with feldspar or mica at 1 or 5% rates did not improve the total or available K contents in PLB at these temperatures. We concluded that heat treatment of locally available feldspar and mica or co-pyrolyzing them with PL are not effective technologies to increase their utilization in agriculture.","PeriodicalId":23313,"journal":{"name":"Tropical agricultural research","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141691504","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
C. Jayasinghe, D. Dassanayake, R. Madhushani, J. C. Edirisinghe, H. M. S. Wasana, M. A. Wijewardane
Developing a Postharvest Loss Index (PHLI) is important for filling the data gap to obtain an idea that real economic loss (quantity x price) occurs due to postharvest losses in the country and to take measures for enhancing food security. Estimating PHLI for agricultural commodities is a novel concept. Thus, in this study, PHLI for bean, carrot, leeks and beetroot was developed on monthly basis at the Dambulla Economic Center (DEC), the focal point in the fruits and vegetable value chain in Sri Lanka. Data were collected on the daily postharvest losses and the prices at the DEC during the period of October 2015 to March 2017. Moreover, SARIMA under time series analysis was employed to forecast future PHLI values for each vegetable. According to the results during the months where there was a decreasing trend in the supply of vegetables to the market, the PHLI was relatively low, and when the supply was high, it showed an increasing trend in the PHLI. The forecasted PHLI values for the beans for the next three months are 74.73, 61.31, and 61.71, while for the carrots forecasted values are 112.03, 81.28, and 47.67. Further, the forecasted values for the leeks are 271.33, 194.19 and 174.97, whereas for the beet PHLI values for the next three months are 177.78, 208.15, and 231.90. As the PHLI of the selected crops has shown a seasonal fluctuation with a pattern, it can be used as the base value to forecast the postharvest loss of a particular crop to enhance food security.
{"title":"Introducing a ‘Postharvest Loss Index (PHLI)’ for Some Selected High Producing Vegetables in Sri Lanka to Enhance Food Security","authors":"C. Jayasinghe, D. Dassanayake, R. Madhushani, J. C. Edirisinghe, H. M. S. Wasana, M. A. Wijewardane","doi":"10.4038/tar.v35i3.8543","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4038/tar.v35i3.8543","url":null,"abstract":"Developing a Postharvest Loss Index (PHLI) is important for filling the data gap to obtain an idea that real economic loss (quantity x price) occurs due to postharvest losses in the country and to take measures for enhancing food security. Estimating PHLI for agricultural commodities is a novel concept. Thus, in this study, PHLI for bean, carrot, leeks and beetroot was developed on monthly basis at the Dambulla Economic Center (DEC), the focal point in the fruits and vegetable value chain in Sri Lanka. Data were collected on the daily postharvest losses and the prices at the DEC during the period of October 2015 to March 2017. Moreover, SARIMA under time series analysis was employed to forecast future PHLI values for each vegetable. According to the results during the months where there was a decreasing trend in the supply of vegetables to the market, the PHLI was relatively low, and when the supply was high, it showed an increasing trend in the PHLI. The forecasted PHLI values for the beans for the next three months are 74.73, 61.31, and 61.71, while for the carrots forecasted values are 112.03, 81.28, and 47.67. Further, the forecasted values for the leeks are 271.33, 194.19 and 174.97, whereas for the beet PHLI values for the next three months are 177.78, 208.15, and 231.90. As the PHLI of the selected crops has shown a seasonal fluctuation with a pattern, it can be used as the base value to forecast the postharvest loss of a particular crop to enhance food security. \u0000 \u0000","PeriodicalId":23313,"journal":{"name":"Tropical agricultural research","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141694567","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
R. M. S. Wijerathna, B. U. I. Prabhavi, J. M. P. N. Anuradha, M. R. Pinnawala, S. P. Nissanka
This stu dy was aimed at investigating the behavioral intention towards and factors influencing adoption of organic soil nutrient management by paddy farmers, consequent to the banning of agro-chemicals in April 2021 in Sri Lank a. A questionnaire survey, supplemented by key informant discussions was used to collect the primary data after six months of the banning when farmers were preparing for the next Maha season (starting from Novemb er 2021). Paddy farmers (N=120) from the Mahaillu ppallama irrigation block of the Mahaweli system H in Anuradhapura district were randomly selected as the respond ents. The Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) was used as the conceptual framework of the study. The study revealed that the majority (85%) of farmers did not agree with the sudden decision of the government to ban agro-chemicals to enable a complete transformation of agriculture to one that is totally organic. Only 11% of the farmers preferred a fully organic paddy production system. The majority (58%) preferred to use both organic and inorganic fertilizers. However, 31% of the farmers preferred conventional farming as usual. Perceived difficulties were the major barriers for farmers to use organic f ertilizers. Attitude on production, age, perceived knowledge of organic agriculture, and farming income significant ly affected (P < 0.1) paddy farmers’ intention to adopt organic fertilizers. It is concluded that a scientifically designed gradual transition would be more appropriate for nutrient management in paddy cultivation.
{"title":"Behavioral Intention of Paddy Farmers Towards Adoption of Organic Sources for Soil Nutrient Management Consequent to Policy Decision to Ban Agro-chemicals in Sri Lanka: A Case Study","authors":"R. M. S. Wijerathna, B. U. I. Prabhavi, J. M. P. N. Anuradha, M. R. Pinnawala, S. P. Nissanka","doi":"10.4038/tar.v35i3.8599","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4038/tar.v35i3.8599","url":null,"abstract":"This stu dy was aimed at investigating the behavioral intention towards and factors influencing adoption of organic soil nutrient management by paddy farmers, consequent to the banning of agro-chemicals in April 2021 in Sri Lank a. A questionnaire survey, supplemented by key informant discussions was used to collect the primary data after six months of the banning when farmers were preparing for the next Maha season (starting from Novemb er 2021). Paddy farmers (N=120) from the Mahaillu ppallama irrigation block of the Mahaweli system H in Anuradhapura district were randomly selected as the respond ents. The Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) was used as the conceptual framework of the study. The study revealed that the majority (85%) of farmers did not agree with the sudden decision of the government to ban agro-chemicals to enable a complete transformation of agriculture to one that is totally organic. Only 11% of the farmers preferred a fully organic paddy production system. The majority (58%) preferred to use both organic and inorganic fertilizers. However, 31% of the farmers preferred conventional farming as usual. Perceived difficulties were the major barriers for farmers to use organic f ertilizers. Attitude on production, age, perceived knowledge of organic agriculture, and farming income significant ly affected (P < 0.1) paddy farmers’ intention to adopt organic fertilizers. It is concluded that a scientifically designed gradual transition would be more appropriate for nutrient management in paddy cultivation. ","PeriodicalId":23313,"journal":{"name":"Tropical agricultural research","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141698014","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
K. M. Kularathna, D. N. V. Gamage, Y.N.S. Wijewardana, H.M.S.K. Herath, httpsdoi.org Vidana Gamage
A study was conducted to investigate the impacts of converting rubber plantations into oil palm plantations on soil properties and soil hydrology. Soil organic carbon (SOC), bulk density (BD), aggregate stability (AS), saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ks), soil water retention, texture, thermal properties, and pH were determined using soil samples collected from different depths of a twelve-year-old oil palm and rubber cultivated fields located in low country wet zone of Sri Lanka. In each field, volumetric water content (VWC) of soil was continuously measured at four soil depths (0-25, 25-50, 50-75, and 75-100 cm) over a seven-month period. While the study revealed a 40% lower SOC in 0-25 cm soil layer of the oil palm field compared to the rubber field, no significant changes were observed in BD, porosity, pore size distribution, AS, and Ks for the two fields. However, the volumetric heat capacity of rubber grown soil was significantly higher than that of the oil palm grown soil. Oil palm utilized the most water from 25-75 cm soil layer; whereas, rubber extracted more water from deeper soil layers (75-100 cm). Soil water depletion in oil palm field was faster during dry periods than in rubber fields highlighting the need to examine the soil water extraction patterns of oil palm during extended dry spells in future studies. Overall, the conversion of rubber into oil palm plantations showed no significant impact on most of the soil properties and soil hydrology after twelve years of conversion.
{"title":"Effects of Conversion of Rubber to Oil Palm Plantations on Soil Properties and Hydrological Dynamics in the Low Country Wet Zone of Sri Lanka","authors":"K. M. Kularathna, D. N. V. Gamage, Y.N.S. Wijewardana, H.M.S.K. Herath, httpsdoi.org Vidana Gamage","doi":"10.4038/tar.v35i3.8789","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4038/tar.v35i3.8789","url":null,"abstract":"A study was conducted to investigate the impacts of converting rubber plantations into oil palm plantations on soil properties and soil hydrology. Soil organic carbon (SOC), bulk density (BD), aggregate stability (AS), saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ks), soil water retention, texture, thermal properties, and pH were determined using soil samples collected from different depths of a twelve-year-old oil palm and rubber cultivated fields located in low country wet zone of Sri Lanka. In each field, volumetric water content (VWC) of soil was continuously measured at four soil depths (0-25, 25-50, 50-75, and 75-100 cm) over a seven-month period. While the study revealed a 40% lower SOC in 0-25 cm soil layer of the oil palm field compared to the rubber field, no significant changes were observed in BD, porosity, pore size distribution, AS, and Ks for the two fields. However, the volumetric heat capacity of rubber grown soil was significantly higher than that of the oil palm grown soil. Oil palm utilized the most water from 25-75 cm soil layer; whereas, rubber extracted more water from deeper soil layers (75-100 cm). Soil water depletion in oil palm field was faster during dry periods than in rubber fields highlighting the need to examine the soil water extraction patterns of oil palm during extended dry spells in future studies. Overall, the conversion of rubber into oil palm plantations showed no significant impact on most of the soil properties and soil hydrology after twelve years of conversion.","PeriodicalId":23313,"journal":{"name":"Tropical agricultural research","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141709152","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Dietary diversity is considered a characteristic of a healthy diet. Improving production diversity is a way to increase dietary diversity in subsistence farming contexts. However, with the agricultural transformation, this association must be revisited. The study aimed to investigate the association between production diversity and dietary diversity in rural agricultural households in Sri Lanka taking seasonality into account. The study site was the Mahakanumulla Village Tank Cascade System in the dry zone of Sri Lanka. Pooled Ordinary Least Squares regression was used in the estimation. The results indicated that production diversity and dietary diversity have a positive and statistically significant relationship. The education level of the household head, income and household size were also identified as factors affecting household dietary diversity. The households seem to smoothen dietary diversity levels across months; hence, there is no significant difference in dietary diversity between Yala/Maha seasons or pre- and post-harvesting periods. Cultivating some specific crop types such as cereals, involvement of livestock farming, and the season affected the frequency of consumption of some food groups such as dairy and meat. This study concludes that increasing production diversity could improve the nutrition of rural agricultural households in Sri Lanka. Hence, nutrition development programmes may benefit from encouraging production diversity in rural agricultural contexts.
{"title":"Production and Dietary Diversities with Seasonality in Rural Agricultural Context in Sri Lanka: A Case of Mahakanumulla Village Tank Cascade System","authors":"N. Nayanathara, D. Hemachandra","doi":"10.4038/tar.v35i3.8790","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4038/tar.v35i3.8790","url":null,"abstract":"Dietary diversity is considered a characteristic of a healthy diet. Improving production diversity is a way to increase dietary diversity in subsistence farming contexts. However, with the agricultural transformation, this association must be revisited. The study aimed to investigate the association between production diversity and dietary diversity in rural agricultural households in Sri Lanka taking seasonality into account. The study site was the Mahakanumulla Village Tank Cascade System in the dry zone of Sri Lanka. Pooled Ordinary Least Squares regression was used in the estimation. The results indicated that production diversity and dietary diversity have a positive and statistically significant relationship. The education level of the household head, income and household size were also identified as factors affecting household dietary diversity. The households seem to smoothen dietary diversity levels across months; hence, there is no significant difference in dietary diversity between Yala/Maha seasons or pre- and post-harvesting periods. Cultivating some specific crop types such as cereals, involvement of livestock farming, and the season affected the frequency of consumption of some food groups such as dairy and meat. This study concludes that increasing production diversity could improve the nutrition of rural agricultural households in Sri Lanka. Hence, nutrition development programmes may benefit from encouraging production diversity in rural agricultural contexts.","PeriodicalId":23313,"journal":{"name":"Tropical agricultural research","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141689975","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The global existence of small-scale food production at the household level has a wide range in terms of physical appearance and utilization. Household, market, and field gardens can be identified as three types of home food producti on systems in a village tank cascade system (VTCS) in the dry zone of Sri Lanka. The variation in food producti on systems adapted in VTCS serves differently for the community either by providing nutrient requirements or ensuri ng financial or food security. It is important to understand the determinants of this variation to support the comm unity to adapt the most suitable food production system for their well-being. Based on random utility theory, this study analyzes the socio-economic and institutional factors affecting the choice of food production system practiced in home gardens in Mahakanumulla VTCS. A revealed preference approach was employed to identify the current home garden choice of households. The decision to have a ho usehold garden is more driven by socio-economic and institutional factors rather than market gardens and field gard ens. The effect of these factors on the decision to have a field garden is comparatively less. Using these results policymakers can predict farm management decisions of households and plan evidence-based strategic governm ent intervention to meet the daily nutrient requirement, ensure food security, and mitigate food scarcity.
{"title":"Effect of Socio-Economic and Institutional Factors on Different Choices of Food Production System Practiced in Home Gardens: A Case Study in Mahakanumulla Village Tank Cascade System","authors":"P. S. H. Silva, S. Weerasooriya","doi":"10.4038/tar.v35i2.8746","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4038/tar.v35i2.8746","url":null,"abstract":"The global existence of small-scale food production at the household level has a wide range in terms of physical appearance and utilization. Household, market, and field gardens can be identified as three types of home food producti on systems in a village tank cascade system (VTCS) in the dry zone of Sri Lanka. The variation in food producti on systems adapted in VTCS serves differently for the community either by providing nutrient requirements or ensuri ng financial or food security. It is important to understand the determinants of this variation to support the comm unity to adapt the most suitable food production system for their well-being. Based on random utility theory, this study analyzes the socio-economic and institutional factors affecting the choice of food production system practiced in home gardens in Mahakanumulla VTCS. A revealed preference approach was employed to identify the current home garden choice of households. The decision to have a ho usehold garden is more driven by socio-economic and institutional factors rather than market gardens and field gard ens. The effect of these factors on the decision to have a field garden is comparatively less. Using these results policymakers can predict farm management decisions of households and plan evidence-based strategic governm ent intervention to meet the daily nutrient requirement, ensure food security, and mitigate food scarcity.","PeriodicalId":23313,"journal":{"name":"Tropical agricultural research","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140770091","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Diversification of jackfruit seed flour depends on its phenotypic and organoleptic characteristics. Seed flour is of good source of starch, dietary fiber, and minerals. Scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy analysis (SEM-EDX) provides a quick non-destructive determination of the elemental composition of the sample readily identifying some elements present in the biological materials. Therefore, the objectives of this study were to determine the structural morphological characteristics and mineral elements present in the seed flour samples of two Jackfruit varieties, waraka and wala. Jackfruit seeds flour samples of waraka and wala were prepared by using de-coted dried seeds. The SEM-EDX method was used to identify the element profile within the ultra-structure. SEM observation of the two jackfruit seed samples showed different structure morphology. Bell-shape starch granules were observed in waraka seed flour. Spherical shape starch granules were observed in wala seed flour. The mean starch granule size of the waraka and wala seed flour were 8.00±0.78 μm and 8.93±0.13 μm, respectively. Wala flour showed comparatively higher macro-element content than waraka flour. The macro elements present in wala were 47% oxygen, 41% carbon, 8% nitrogen, 2% sodium and 0.7% potassium. Waraka seed flour contained 53% of oxygen, 41% of carbon, and 0.5% of potassium. Study confirmed that structural morphology and element composition of seed flour are different between two jackfruit varieties, waraka and wala.
{"title":"Structural and Elemental Analysis of Waraka and Wala Jackfruit Seed Flour Samples by SEM-EDX Method","authors":"Y. T. Senaweera, B. Prasantha","doi":"10.4038/tar.v35i2.8747","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4038/tar.v35i2.8747","url":null,"abstract":"Diversification of jackfruit seed flour depends on its phenotypic and organoleptic characteristics. Seed flour is of good source of starch, dietary fiber, and minerals. Scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy analysis (SEM-EDX) provides a quick non-destructive determination of the elemental composition of the sample readily identifying some elements present in the biological materials. Therefore, the objectives of this study were to determine the structural morphological characteristics and mineral elements present in the seed flour samples of two Jackfruit varieties, waraka and wala. Jackfruit seeds flour samples of waraka and wala were prepared by using de-coted dried seeds. The SEM-EDX method was used to identify the element profile within the ultra-structure. SEM observation of the two jackfruit seed samples showed different structure morphology. Bell-shape starch granules were observed in waraka seed flour. Spherical shape starch granules were observed in wala seed flour. The mean starch granule size of the waraka and wala seed flour were 8.00±0.78 μm and 8.93±0.13 μm, respectively. Wala flour showed comparatively higher macro-element content than waraka flour. The macro elements present in wala were 47% oxygen, 41% carbon, 8% nitrogen, 2% sodium and 0.7% potassium. Waraka seed flour contained 53% of oxygen, 41% of carbon, and 0.5% of potassium. Study confirmed that structural morphology and element composition of seed flour are different between two jackfruit varieties, waraka and wala.","PeriodicalId":23313,"journal":{"name":"Tropical agricultural research","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140774519","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
L. H. M. P. R. Lansakara, S. P. Kodithuwakku, S. Himali, J. Vidanarachchi
Dietary fiber supplementation has proven benefits on fish health and growth. Cinnamon spent bark waste is the cinnamon bark residue after oil distillation. It is a rich source of insoluble dietary fiber with very low contents of soluble dietary fiber. This study aimed to investigate the potential of using water-extracted insoluble fiber from cinnamon spent bark waste as a functional ingredient in the diets of Oreochromis niloticus fingerlings. Four experimental diets were prepared by replacing a commercial feed with extracted dietary fiber at 0 (control), 0.5%, 1%, and 1.5% levels. Fingerlings of O. niloticus were assigned to the four experimental diets and the feeding trial was conducted for 12 weeks. The results revealed that the weight gain, specific growth rate, feed conversion ratio, Fulton’s condition factor, and survival rate of fish were not significantly different among the experimental groups. Fiber supplementation at 1.5% significantly increased (p<0.05) the total aerobic bacteria population in feces, whereas the coliform counts in feces at 0.5% and 1% fiber supplementation were significantly lower (p<0.05) than the control. There was a significant increase (p<0.05) in red blood cells count at 0.5% fiber supplementation. Moreover, insoluble dietary fiber supplementation significantly (p<0.05) increased the white blood cell counts in blood. Results suggested that insoluble fiber supplementation affected gut microbial populations and blood parameters of O. niloticus fingerlings. However, further investigations on gut microbiology and hematology are needed to ensure the use of insoluble dietary fiber from cinnamon spent bark waste as a functional ingredient in the diets of O. niloticus fingerlings.
{"title":"Effects of Supplementation of Insoluble Dietary Fiber Obtained from Cinnamon Spent Bark Waste on the Performance of Nile Tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) Fingerlings","authors":"L. H. M. P. R. Lansakara, S. P. Kodithuwakku, S. Himali, J. Vidanarachchi","doi":"10.4038/tar.v35i2.8744","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4038/tar.v35i2.8744","url":null,"abstract":"Dietary fiber supplementation has proven benefits on fish health and growth. Cinnamon spent bark waste is the cinnamon bark residue after oil distillation. It is a rich source of insoluble dietary fiber with very low contents of soluble dietary fiber. This study aimed to investigate the potential of using water-extracted insoluble fiber from cinnamon spent bark waste as a functional ingredient in the diets of Oreochromis niloticus fingerlings. Four experimental diets were prepared by replacing a commercial feed with extracted dietary fiber at 0 (control), 0.5%, 1%, and 1.5% levels. Fingerlings of O. niloticus were assigned to the four experimental diets and the feeding trial was conducted for 12 weeks. The results revealed that the weight gain, specific growth rate, feed conversion ratio, Fulton’s condition factor, and survival rate of fish were not significantly different among the experimental groups. Fiber supplementation at 1.5% significantly increased (p<0.05) the total aerobic bacteria population in feces, whereas the coliform counts in feces at 0.5% and 1% fiber supplementation were significantly lower (p<0.05) than the control. There was a significant increase (p<0.05) in red blood cells count at 0.5% fiber supplementation. Moreover, insoluble dietary fiber supplementation significantly (p<0.05) increased the white blood cell counts in blood. Results suggested that insoluble fiber supplementation affected gut microbial populations and blood parameters of O. niloticus fingerlings. However, further investigations on gut microbiology and hematology are needed to ensure the use of insoluble dietary fiber from cinnamon spent bark waste as a functional ingredient in the diets of O. niloticus fingerlings.","PeriodicalId":23313,"journal":{"name":"Tropical agricultural research","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140782712","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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