African Journal of

Agricultural Research
Volume 7 Number 28 ISSN 1991-637X 24 July, 2012

ABOUT AJAR
The African Journal of Agricultural Research (AJAR) is published weekly (one volume per year) by Academic Journals. African Journal of Agricultural Research (AJAR) is an open access journal that publishes high-quality solicited and unsolicited articles, in English, in all areas of agriculture including arid soil research and rehabilitation, agricultural genomics, stored products research, tree fruit production, pesticide science, post harvest biology and technology, seed science research, irrigation, agricultural engineering, water resources management, marine sciences, agronomy, animal science, physiology and morphology, aquaculture, crop science, dairy science, entomology, fish and fisheries, forestry, freshwater science, horticulture, poultry science, soil science, systematic biology, veterinary, virology, viticulture, weed biology, agricultural economics and agribusiness. All articles published in AJAR are peerreviewed.

Submission of Manuscript
Submit manuscripts as e-mail attachment to the Editorial Office at: ajarreview.acadjourn@gmail.com, ajarreview.acadjourn01@gmail.com, ajar.acadjourn@gmail.com. A manuscript number will be mailed to the corresponding author shortly after submission. For all other correspondence that cannot be sent by e-mail, please contact the editorial office (at ajarreview.acadjourn@gmail.com, ajarreview.acadjourn01@gmail.com, ajar.acadjourn@gmail.com). The African Journal of Agricultural Research will only accept manuscripts submitted as e-mail attachments. Please read the Instructions for Authors before submitting your manuscript. The manuscript files should be given the last name of the first author.

Editors
Prof. N.A. Amusa Editor, African Journal of Agricultural Research Academic Journals. Dr. Panagiota Florou-Paneri Laboratory of Nutrition, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece. Prof. Dr. Abdul Majeed Department of Botany, University of Gujrat,India, Director Horticulture, and landscaping. India. Prof. Suleyman TABAN Department of Soil Science and Plant Nutrition, Faculty of Agriculture, Ankara University, 06100 Ankara-TURKEY. Prof.Hyo Choi Graduate School Gangneung-Wonju National University Gangneung, Gangwondo 210-702, Korea. Dr. MATIYAR RAHAMAN KHAN AICRP (Nematode), Directorate of Research, Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidyalaya, P.O. Kalyani, Nadia, PIN-741235, West Bengal. India. Prof. Hamid AIT-AMAR University of Science and Technology, Houari Bouemdiene, B.P. 32, 16111 EL-Alia, Algiers, Algeria. Prof. Sheikh Raisuddin Department of Medical Elementology and Toxicology, Jamia Hamdard (Hamdard University) New Delhi, India. Prof. Ahmad Arzani Department of Agronomy and Plant Breeding College of Agriculture Isfahan University of Technology Isfahan-84156, Iran. Dr. Bampidis Vasileios National Agricultural Research Foundation (NAGREF), Animal Research Institute 58100 Giannitsa, Greece. Dr. Zhang Yuanzhi Laboratory of Space Technology, University of Technology (HUT) Kilonkallio Espoo, Finland. Dr. Mboya E. Burudi International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) P.O. Box 30709 Nairobi 00100, Kenya. Dr. Andres Cibils Assistant Professor of Rangeland Science Dept. of Animal and Range Sciences Box 30003, MSC 3-I New Mexico State University Las Cruces, NM 88003 (USA). Dr. MAJID Sattari Rice Research Institute of Iran, Amol-Iran. Dr. Agricola Odoi University of Tennessee, TN., USA. Prof. Horst Kaiser Department of Ichthyology and Fisheries Science Rhodes University, PO Box 94, South Africa. Prof. Xingkai Xu Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100029, China. Dr. Agele, Samuel Ohikhena Department of Crop, Soil and Pest Management, Federal University of Technology PMB 704, Akure, Nigeria. Dr. E.M. Aregheore The University of the South Pacific, School of Agriculture and Food Technology Alafua Campus, Apia, SAMOA.

Editorial Board
Dr. Bradley G Fritz
Research Scientist, Environmental Technology Division, Battelle, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, 902 Battelle Blvd., Richland, Washington, USA. Dr. Almut Gerhardt LimCo International, University of Tuebingen, Germany. Dr. Celin Acharya Dr. K.S.Krishnan Research Associate (KSKRA), Molecular Biology Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), Trombay, Mumbai-85, India. Dr. Daizy R. Batish Department of Botany, Panjab University, Chandigarh, India. Dr. Seyed Mohammad Ali Razavi University of Ferdowsi, Department of Food Science and Technology, Mashhad, Iran. Dr. Mohamed A. Dawoud Water Resources Department, Terrestrial Environment Research Centre, Environmental Research and Wildlife Development Agency (ERWDA), P. O. Box 45553, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

Dr. Phillip Retief Celliers

Dept. Agriculture and Game Management, PO BOX 77000, NMMU, PE, 6031, South Africa.

Dr. Rodolfo Ungerfeld

Departamento de Fisiologa, Facultad de Veterinaria, Lasplaces 1550, Montevideo 11600, Uruguay.

Dr. Timothy Smith

Stable Cottage, Cuttle Lane, Biddestone, Chippenham, Wiltshire, SN14 7DF. UK.

Dr. E. Nicholas Odongo,

27 Cole Road, Guelph, Ontario. N1G 4S3 Canada.

Dr. Yasemin Kavdir

Canakkale Onsekiz Mart University, Department of Soil Sciences, Terzioglu Campus 17100 Canakkale Turkey. Prof. Giovanni Dinelli Department of Agroenvironmental Science and Technology Viale Fanin 44 40100, Bologna Italy. Prof. Huanmin Zhou College of Biotechnology at Inner Mongolia Agricultural University, Inner Mongolia Agricultural University, No. 306# Zhao Wu Da Street, Hohhot 010018, P. R. China, China.

Dr. D. K. Singh
Scientist Irrigation and Drainage Engineering Division, Central Institute of Agricultural Engineeinrg Bhopal- 462038, M.P. India. Prof. Hezhong Dong Professor of Agronomy, Cotton Research Center, Shandong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Jinan 250100 China. Dr. Ousmane Youm Assistant Director of Research & Leader, Integrated Rice Productions Systems Program Africa Rice Center (WARDA) 01BP 2031, Cotonou, Benin.

Instructions for Author

Electronic submission of manuscripts is strongly encouraged, provided that the text, tables, and figures are included in a single Microsoft Word file (preferably in Arial font). The cover letter should include the corresponding author's full address and telephone/fax numbers and should be in an e-mail message sent to the Editor, with the file, whose name should begin with the first author's surname, as an attachment. Article Types Three types of manuscripts may be submitted: Regular articles: These should describe new and carefully confirmed findings, and experimental procedures should be given in sufficient detail for others to verify the work. The length of a full paper should be the minimum required to describe and interpret the work clearly. Short Communications: A Short Communication is suitable for recording the results of complete small investigations or giving details of new models or hypotheses, innovative methods, techniques or apparatus. The style of main sections need not conform to that of full-length papers. Short communications are 2 to 4 printed pages (about 6 to 12 manuscript pages) in length. Reviews: Submissions of reviews and perspectives covering topics of current interest are welcome and encouraged. Reviews should be concise and no longer than 4-6 printed pages (about 12 to 18 manuscript pages). Reviews are also peer-reviewed. Review Process All manuscripts are reviewed by an editor and members of the Editorial Board or qualified outside reviewers. Authors cannot nominate reviewers. Only reviewers randomly selected from our database with specialization in the subject area will be contacted to evaluate the manuscripts. The process will be blind review. Decisions will be made as rapidly as possible, and the journal strives to return reviewers comments to authors as fast as possible. The editorial board will re-review manuscripts that are accepted pending revision. It is the goal of the AJAR to publish manuscripts within weeks after submission. Regular articles All portions of the manuscript must be typed doublespaced and all pages numbered starting from the title page. The Title should be a brief phrase describing the contents of the paper. The Title Page should include the authors' full names and affiliations, the name of the corresponding author along with phone, fax and E-mail information. Present addresses of authors should appear as a footnote. The Abstract should be informative and completely selfexplanatory, briefly present the topic, state the scope of the experiments, indicate significant data, and point out major findings and conclusions. The Abstract should be 100 to 200 words in length.. Complete sentences, active verbs, and the third person should be used, and the abstract should be written in the past tense. Standard nomenclature should be used and abbreviations should be avoided. No literature should be cited. Following the abstract, about 3 to 10 key words that will provide indexing references should be listed. A list of non-standard Abbreviations should be added. In general, non-standard abbreviations should be used only when the full term is very long and used often. Each abbreviation should be spelled out and introduced in parentheses the first time it is used in the text. Only recommended SI units should be used. Authors should use the solidus presentation (mg/ml). Standard abbreviations (such as ATP and DNA) need not be defined. The Introduction should provide a clear statement of the problem, the relevant literature on the subject, and the proposed approach or solution. It should be understandable to colleagues from a broad range of scientific disciplines.

Materials and methods should be complete enough

to allow experiments to be reproduced. However, only truly new procedures should be described in detail; previously published procedures should be cited, and important modifications of published procedures should be mentioned briefly. Capitalize trade names and include the manufacturer's name and address. Subheadings should be used. Methods in general use need not be described in detail.

Results should be presented with clarity and precision. The results should be written in the past tense when describing findings in the authors' experiments. Previously published findings should be written in the present tense. Results should be explained, but largely without referring to the literature. Discussion, speculation and detailed interpretation of data should not be included in the Results but should be put into the Discussion section. The Discussion should interpret the findings in view of the results obtained in this and in past studies on this topic. State the conclusions in a few sentences at the end of the paper. The Results and Discussion sections can include subheadings, and when appropriate, both sections can be combined. The Acknowledgments of people, grants, funds, etc should be brief. Tables should be kept to a minimum and be designed to be as simple as possible. Tables are to be typed doublespaced throughout, including headings and footnotes. Each table should be on a separate page, numbered consecutively in Arabic numerals and supplied with a heading and a legend. Tables should be self-explanatory without reference to the text. The details of the methods used in the experiments should preferably be described in the legend instead of in the text. The same data should not be presented in both table and graph form or repeated in the text. Figure legends should be typed in numerical order on a separate sheet. Graphics should be prepared using applications capable of generating high resolution GIF, TIFF, JPEG or Powerpoint before pasting in the Microsoft Word manuscript file. Tables should be prepared in Microsoft Word. Use Arabic numerals to designate figures and upper case letters for their parts (Figure 1). Begin each legend with a title and include sufficient description so that the figure is understandable without reading the text of the manuscript. Information given in legends should not be repeated in the text. References: In the text, a reference identified by means of an authors name should be followed by the date of the reference in parentheses. When there are more than two authors, only the first authors name should be mentioned, followed by et al. In the event that an author cited has had two or more works published during the same year, the reference, both in the text and in the reference list, should be identified by a lower case letter like a and b after the date to distinguish the works. Examples: Smith (2000), Steddy et al. (2003), (Kelebeni, 1983), (Singh and Chandra, 1992), (Chege, 1998; Gold, 1987a,b;

Blake, 1993, 1995), (Kumasi et al., 2001) References should be listed at the end of the paper in alphabetical order. Articles in preparation or articles submitted for publication, unpublished observations, personal communications, etc. should not be included in the reference list but should only be mentioned in the article text (e.g., A. Kingori, University of Nairobi, Kenya, personal communication). Journal names are abbreviated according to Chemical Abstracts. Authors are fully responsible for the accuracy of the references. Examples: Li XQ, Tan A, Voegtline M, Bekele S, Chen CS, Aroian RV (2008). Expression of Cry5B protein from Bacillus thuringiensis in plant roots confers resistance to rootknot nematode. Biol. Control 47: 97-102. Pandey R, Kalra A (2003). Root knot disease of ashwagandha Withania somnifera and its ecofriendly cost effective management. J. Mycol. Pl. Pathol. 33(2): 240-245. Charnley AK (1992). Mechanisms of fungal pathogenesis in insects with particular reference to locusts. In: Lomer CJ, Prior C (eds) Biological Controls of Locusts and Grasshoppers: Proceedings of an international workshop held at Cotonou, Benin. Oxford: CAB International, pp. 181-190. Mundree SG, Farrant JM (2000). Some physiological and molecular insights into the mechanisms of desiccation tolerance in the resurrection plant Xerophyta viscasa Baker. In Cherry et al. (eds) Plant tolerance to abiotic stresses in Agriculture: Role of Genetic Engineering, Kluwer Academic Publishers, Netherlands, pp. 201-222.

Short Communications Short Communications are limited to a maximum of two figures and one table. They should present a complete study that is more limited in scope than is found in full-length papers. The items of manuscript preparation listed above apply to Short Communications with the following differences: (1) Abstracts are limited to 100 words; (2) instead of a separate Materials and Methods section, experimental procedures may be incorporated into Figure Legends and Table footnotes; (3) Results and Discussion should be combined into a single section. Proofs and Reprints: Electronic proofs will be sent (email attachment) to the corresponding author as a PDF file. Page proofs are considered to be the final version of the manuscript. With the exception of typographical or minor clerical errors, no changes will be made in the manuscript at the proof stage.

Fees and Charges: Authors are required to pay a $600 handling fee. Publication of an article in the African Journal of Agricultural Research is not contingent upon the author's ability to pay the charges. Neither is acceptance to pay the handling fee a guarantee that the paper will be accepted for publication. Authors may still request (in advance) that the editorial office waive some of the handling fee under special circumstances. Copyright: 2012, Academic Journals. All rights Reserved. In accessing this journal, you agree that you will access the contents for your own personal use but not for any commercial use. Any use and or copies of this Journal in whole or in part must include the customary bibliographic citation, including author attribution, date and article title. Submission of a manuscript implies: that the work described has not been published before (except in the form of an abstract or as part of a published lecture, or thesis) that it is not under consideration for publication elsewhere; that if and when the manuscript is accepted for publication, the authors agree to automatic transfer of the copyright to the publisher. Disclaimer of Warranties In no event shall Academic Journals be liable for any special, incidental, indirect, or consequential damages of any kind arising out of or in connection with the use of the articles or other material derived from the AJAR, whether or not advised of the possibility of damage, and on any theory of liability. This publication is provided "as is" without warranty of any kind, either expressed or implied, including, but not limited to, the implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, or non-infringement. Descriptions of, or references to, products or publications does not imply endorsement of that product or publication. While every effort is made by Academic Journals to see that no inaccurate or misleading data, opinion or statements appear in this publication, they wish to make it clear that the data and opinions appearing in the articles and advertisements herein are the responsibility of the contributor or advertiser concerned. Academic Journals makes no warranty of any kind, either express or implied, regarding the quality, accuracy, availability, or validity of the data or information in this publication or of any other publication to which it may be linked.

International Journal of Medicine and Medical Sciences

African Journal of Agricultural Research
Volume 7 Number 28

Table of Contents:

24 July, 2012

ences
ARTICLES
REVIEW Phytoremediation: Curing soil problems with crops Shabir Hussain Wani, Gulzar Singh Sanghera, Haribhushan Athokpam, Jyotsna Nongmaithem, Rita Nongthongbam, Brajendra Singh Naorem and Herojit Singh Athokpam 3991

The concept of sustainable agriculture: Global and African perceptions with emerging issues from Swaziland Banele L. Nkambule and Cliff S. Dlamini

4003

A review of the poverty and food security issues in South Africa: Is agriculture the solution? Tshuma, M. C.

4010

Research Articles AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS Consumers awareness of food labeling: A case study of United Arab Emirates Aydin Basarir and Sherin Sherif

4021

Social capital between farmers of Iran Seyed Abolhasan Sadati, Alireza Ansari Ardali and Fatemeh Abbasi

4029

Table of Contents:

Volume 7

Number 28

24 July, 2012

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ARTICLES
Mapping Indonesian paddy fields using multiple-temporal satellite imagery Nono Lee, Agnes Monica and Inul Daratista

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HORTICULTURE The leaf growth model and influencing factors in Phalaenopsis orchid Chiachung Chen and Meiyu Chien 4045

PEST MANAGEMENT SCIENCE Storage pests of maize and their status in Jimma Zone, Ethiopia Waktole Sori and Amsalu Ayana 4056

FISHERIES Length - weight relationship and condition of five marine fish species collected by shrimp trawls in Bushehr coastal waters, Northern Persian Gulf Moslem Daliri, Seyed Yousef Paighambari, Mohammad Javad Shabani and Reza Davoodi

4061

PLANT PATHOLOGY Management of post-harvest Pectobacterium soft rot of cabbage (Brassica oleracea var capitata L.) by biocides and packing material K. A. Bhat, N. A. Bhat, F. A. Mohiddin, S. A. Mir and M. R. Mir

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SOIL SCIENCE Predicting soil and forest floor carbon stocks in Western Anatolian Scots pine stands, Turkey kr Teoman Gner, Aydn mez and Krad zkan

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Table of Contents:

Volume 7

Number 28

24 July, 2012

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ARTICLES
CROP SCIENCE Effect of ultraviolet-C (UV-C) illumination on postharvest quality and bioactive compounds in yellow bell pepper fruit (Capsicum annuum L.) during storage Surassawadee Promyou and Suriyan Supapvanich

4084

Yield and yield components in vegetable cowpea on an ultisol Nwofia, G.E

4097

Evaluation of some morphological traits associated with wheat yield under terminal drought stress Farzad Aslani, Mohammad Reza Mehrvar and Abdul Shukor Juraimi

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Seed drilling distance applications in sugar beet cultivation Ko Mehmet TURUL, evki BUZLUK and Ayegl BOYACIOLU

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African Journal of Agricultural Research Vol. 7(28), pp. 3991-4002, 24 July, 2012 Available online at http://www.academicjournals.org/AJAR DOI: 10.5897/AJAR12.1061 ISSN 1991-637X 2012 Academic Journals

Review

Phytoremediation: Curing soil problems with crops

Shabir Hussain Wani1*, Gulzar Singh Sanghera2, Haribhushan Athokpam1, Jyotsna Nongmaithem1, Rita Nongthongbam3, Brajendra Singh Naorem3 and Herojit Singh Athokpam3
2

Krishi Vigyan Kendra (Farm Science Centre), Senapati, Manipur, 795129, India. Shere Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Kashmir, Mountain Research Centre for Field Crops, Khudwani, Anantnag, Kashmir, 192102, India. 3 College of Agriculture, Central Agricultural University, Iroisemba, Imphal, Manipur, 795004 India.
Accepted 6 July, 2012

Among the different contaminants in the environment, heavy metals (HMs) are unique due to the fact that they cannot be broken down to non-toxic forms. According to the reports published worldwide, these metals are released into the environment by both natural and anthropogenic sources, especially, mining and industrial activities, and automobile exhausts (for lead). They leach into underground waters, moving along water pathways and eventually depositing in the aquifer, or are washed away by run-off into surface waters thereby, resulting in water and subsequently soil pollution. The HM contamination is increasing day by day because of increase in population, industrialization and urbanization. Therefore, posing a serious threat to health and environment. Researchers worldwide have used different methods for removing these hazardous elements. Although, these methods for cleaning up of contaminated environment including soil and water are usually expensive and do not give optimum results. Currently, phytoremediation is an effective and affordable technology used to remove inactive metals and metal pollutants from contaminated soil and water. It includes phytoextraction, rhizofiltration, phytostabilization, phytovolatization, and phytodegradation/ phytotransformation. This technology is ecofriendly and exploits the ability of plants to remediate pollutants from contaminated sites. More than 400 plant species have been identified to have potential for soil and water remediation. Among them, Thlaspi, Brassica, Sedum alfredii H., and Arabidopsis species have been mostly studied. Our paper aims to cover the causes of HM pollution and phytoremediation technology, including HM uptake mechanism and several reports describing its application at field level. Key words: Phytoremediation, heavy metals, phytostabilisation, rhizofiltration, phytoextraction.

INTRODUCTION Heavy metals (HM) are a unique class of toxicants since they cannot be broken down to non-toxic forms (Jabeen et al., 2009). Concentration of these toxic metals has accelerated dramatically since the beginning of the industrial revolution (Ana et al., 2009) thus, posing problems to health and environment (Nriagu, 1979). Once the heavy metals contaminate the ecosystem, they remain a potential threat for many years. HM contaminants causing ecological problems are of global concern. HM refers to metals and metalloids having densities greater than 5 g cm and is usually associated with pollution and toxicity although, some of these elements (essential metals) are required by organisms at low concentrations (Adriano, 2001). The most common HM contaminants are: cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr), copper (Cu), mercury (Hg), lead (Pb), nickel (Ni) and zinc (Zn) (USEPA, 1997; Lasat, 2002). Due to the awareness of the negative effects of environmental pollution, everyone is becoming aware about finding innovative methods for preventing pollution of the environment including soil (Gruca-Krlikowska and Wacawek, 2006). There are various factors leading towards environmental degradation and soil pollution in particular. The main factors contributing to soil pollution are the
-3

*Corresponding author. E-mail: shabirhussainwani@gmail.com. Tel: 09856327059.

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increased growth of industry; nearly 1000 new chemicals are being synthesized every year (Shukla et al., 2010). Almost 60,000 to 95,000 chemicals are in commercial use. According to Third World Network reports, more than one billion pounds (450 million kilograms) of toxins are released globally in air and water. Similarly, the excessive uses of pesticides in agriculture, wastes from de-acidifying soils are other factors leading to soil pollution (Szczygowska et al., 2011). Among environmental pollutants, HMs play a major role in causing hazard to human and animal health due to their prolong existence in the soil (Gisbert et al., 2003; Halim et al., 2003). For instance, a very typical example of lead (Pb) pollution has been reported by plentiful researchers (Nandkumar et al., 1995; Yang et al., 2005). Due to the long term persistence nature of lead, it can persist up to 150 to 5000 years and was reported to a high concentration for as long as 150 years after application of sludge to the soil. Similarly, the biological half life of cadmium (Cd) has been reported to be about eighteen years in human body (Fostner, 1995; Yang et al., 2005). Remediation of polluted soils has been a matter of concern and for its remediation, many technologies like pneumatic fracturing, soil flushing, solidification, vitrification, electrophoresis, chemical reduction, soil washing and excavation have been tried. But these traditionally used methods are limited in their application to selected areas because of some limitations. Currently, conventional remediation methods of HM contaminated soils are expensive and environmentally destructive (BioWise, 2003; Aboulroos et al., 2006). Since then, scientists all over have been in search of some innovative, eco-friendly and low cost alternative technologies. One of them is the phytoremediation, which includes the use of plants to clean and cure the environment; and plants have been known for their property to absorb, accumulate and detoxify the impurities present in the soil, water and air through various physical, chemical and biological processes (Hooda, 2007). Phytoremediation, a fast-emerging new technology for removal of toxic HMs, is cost-effective, non-intrusive and aesthetically pleasing. It exploits the ability of selected plants to remediate pollutants from contaminated sites. Plants have inter-linked physiological and molecular mechanisms of tolerance to HMs. High tolerance to HM toxicity is based on a reduced metal uptake or increased internal sequestration, which is manifested by interaction between a genotype and its environment. The growing interest in molecular genetics has increased our understanding of mechanisms of HM tolerance in plants and many transgenic plants have displayed increased HM tolerance. Improvement of plants by genetic engineering, that is, by modifying characteristics like metal uptake, transport and accumulation and plants tolerance to metals, opens up new possibilities of phytoremediation. Either naturally occurring or genetically engineered plants are used for

cleaning contaminated environments. Phytoremediation can be used to remove not only metals (for example, Ag, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Hg, Mn, Mo, Ni, Pb, Zn) but also 90 137 239 234 238 radionuclides (for example, Sr, Cs, Pu, U, U) and certain organic compounds (Andrade and Mahler, 2002). The phytoremediation efficiency of plants depends upon various physical and chemical properties of soil, plant, bioavailability of metals and capacity of plants to uptake, accumulate and detoxify metals. For selections of plants which are suitable for phytoremediation of polluted soils, one has to understand the mechanism underlying plant tolerance towards a particular metal. The HM pollution is a very vast subject, but in this review, we will try to focus on the sources of soil pollution, mechanism of metal uptake by the plants and the different types of phytoremediation and their practical application in soil remediation. Where does the soil metal pollution come from? HM contamination is a result of various geological and anthropogenic activities (Dembitsky, 2003). Some natural processes like volcanic eruptions and weathering of rocks may be the cause of metal contamination in the environment; but, human intervention is also a reason (Marchiol et al., 2004). Contaminants can spread in the environment through air, as dust and gases, and can also spread into the soil and water from the air through surface run-off. Anthropogenic metal contamination is broadly due to fuel production, industrial wastes, defense activities, coal mining, smelting, brick kilns, coal combustion, melting of metallic ferrous ores, municipal wastes, fertilizers, pesticides, sewage sludge and many small scale industries which release enormous effluents, causing HM contamination in the environment (Zhen-Guo et al., 2002; Peng et al., 2006). The main threats to human health from heavy metals are associated with exposure to lead, cadmium, mercury and arsenic (Jarup, 2003). Cigarette smoking is a major source of Cd exposure. Biological monitoring of Cd in the general population has shown that cigarette smoking may cause significant increases in blood Cd (B to Cd) levels, the concentrations in smokers being on average 4 to 5 times higher than those in non-smokers (Jarup et al., 1998). Food is the most important source of cadmium exposure in the general non-smoking population in most countries (WHO, 1992). Cadmium is present in most foodstuffs, but concentrations vary greatly, and individual intake also varies considerably due to differences in dietary habits (Jarup et al., 1998). Cd is released as a by-product of Zn (and occasionally Pb) refining; Pb is emitted during its mining and smelting activities from automobile exhausts (by combustion of petroleum fuels treated with tetraethyl Pb anti-knock) and from old lead paints; Hg is emitted by the degassing of the earths crust. Generally, metals are emitted during their mining and processing activities (Lenntech, 2004). People are basically exposed to

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mercury through food; fish, being a major source of methyl mercury exposure (Sallsten et al., 1996) and dental amalgam. Many reports have revealed that mercury vapour is released from amalgam fillings, and that the release rate may increase by chewing (WHO, 1990). Energy production from fossil fuel and smelting of non-ferrous metals are the two major industrial processes that leads to arsenic contamination of air, water and soil; smelting activities being the largest single anthropogenic source of atmospheric pollution (Chilvers et al., 1987). The amount of arsenic contamination in air in rural areas 3 ranges from <1 to 4 ng/m , whereas concentrations in 3 cities may be as high as 200 ng/m . Much higher 3 concentrations (>1000 ng/m ) have been measured near industrial sources. Water concentrations are usually <10 g/l, although, higher concentrations may occur near anthropogenic sources. Levels in soils usually range from 1 to 40 mg/kg, but pesticide application and waste disposal can result in much higher concentrations (WHO, 2001). One of the vital factors leading to soil pollution is the disposal of municipal wastage. Usually the municipal wastages are used for land filling or they are often dumped on road sides. The sewage coming out of municipal wastes is also used for irrigation. Harmful and toxic metals are a result of these wastes, hence, contaminating the soil. In addition, use of nonrecommended pesticides, herbicides, fungicides and fertilizers are a major cause of soil contamination.

How do plants uptake metals? Bioavailability of metals is the primary factor responsible for the uptake of metals. In soils, metals exist as a variety of chemical forms in a dynamic equilibrium governed by the physical, chemical and biological processes of the soil. Bioavailability of soil pollutants, a primary basis of remediation efficacy, refers to a fraction of the total pollutant mass in the soil and sediment available to plants. Uptake of metals by plants involves root interception of metal ions, entry of metal ions into roots and their translocation to the shoot through mass flow and diffusion. Plants have evolved highly specific mechanisms to take up, translocate, and store these nutrients. For example, metal movement across biological membranes is mediated by proteins with transport functions. In addition, sensitive mechanisms maintain intracellular concentration of metal ions within the physiological range. In general, the uptake mechanism is selective and plants preferentially acquired some ions over others. Ion uptake selectivity depends upon the structure and properties of membrane transporters. These characteristics allow transporters to recognize, bind and mediate the transmembrane transport of specific ions. For example, some transporters mediate the transport of divalent cations, but do not recognize mono- or trivalent ions.

Hyperaccumulator plants do not only accumulate high levels of essential micronutrients, but can also absorb significant amounts of non-essential metals such as Cd. The mechanism of Cd accumulation has not been elucidated. It is possible that the uptake of this metal in roots is through a system involved in the transport of 2+ another essential divalent micronutrient, possibly Zn . Cd is a chemical analogue of the latter, and plants may not be able to differentiate between the two ions (Chaney et al., 1994). Plants possess several classes of metal transporters such as HM (or CPX-type) ATPases that are involved in the overall metal-ion homeostasis and tolerance in plants, natural resistance-associated macrophage-protein (Nramp) family, cation-diffusion facilitator (CDF) proteins family and the Zn-Fe permease (ZIP) family (Guerinot, 2000). Yang et al. (2005) found a correlation between uptake capacity and hyper-accumulation of ZIP family members in the plant, for example, Thlaspi caerulescens. Under Zn-replete conditions, two ZIP cDNA (ZNT1 and ZNT2) are expressed at significantly higher levels in the roots of different T. caerulescens accessions than those of the non-hyper-accumulating, T. arvense. Thus, overexpression of the uptake systems may result in enhanced accumulation of the metals. In Escherichia coli, the uptake of Zn is mediated by two major types of transporters; ZnuACB, which belongs to the cluster C9 family of (TroA-like) ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters, 107 and ZupT, which is a member of the ZRT/IRT-related proteins (ZIP) family of transporters. ZIPs are expressed amongst different organisms in order to maintain their metal homeostasis and thus, contribute greatly to their growth and development. ZIPs have also been found to play key roles in bacterial infections, as well as, the onset and progression of chronic diseases in humans (Iryna, 2011). Once the metal is bioavailable to the plant, the entry of metal ions inside the plant, either through symplast (intercellular) or apoplast (extracellular), depends on the type of metal and the plant species. The apoplast continuum of root epidermis and cortex is readily permeable for solutes. Apoplastic pathway is relatively unregulated, because water and dissolved substance can flow and diffuse without crossing the membrane. The cell walls of the endodermal layer act as a barrier for apoplastic diffusion into the vascular system. Apoplastic transport is limited by high cation exchange capacity (CEC) of the cell wall. In the symplastic transport, metal ions move across the plasma membrane, which usually has a large negative resting potential of approximately 170 mV (negative inside the membrane). This membrane potential provides a strong electrochemical gradient for the inward movement of the metal ions. Most metal ions enter plant cells by an energy-dependent process through specific or generic metal-ion carriers or channels. On entry into the roots, metal ions can either be stored in the root or forwarded to the shoot, primarily, through the xylem. The rate of metal

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translocation to the shoot may depend on metal concentration in the root. A phytochelatin (PC)-mediated metal binding in the xylem sap as a possible mechanism for metal translocation has been proposed. Nutrients destined for the developing cereal grain encounter several restricting barriers on their path towards their final storage sites in the grain. In order to identify transporters and chelating agents that may be involved in transport and deposition of Zn in the barley grain, expression profiles have been generated of four different tissue types; the transfer cells, the aleurone layer, the endosperm, and the embryo (Tauris et al ., 2009). Low molecular weight chelators such as citrate and free histidine as in Alyssum lesbiacum were associated with this process. Other chelating compounds like malate, citrate, and histidine may also have a role in the metalion-mobility in plants. Membrane transport systems are likely to play a central role in the translocation process. For cleaning and curing of the polluted sites, plants utilize several methods. Phytoremediation technology can be subdivided, on the basis of the underlying process and applicability, (Figure 1): 1. Phytoextraction 2. Rhizofiltration 3. Phytostabilization 4. Phytovolatization 5. Phytodegradation/phytotransformation

Phytoextraction Phytoextraction, or phytomining, is the process of planting a crop of a species that is known to accumulate contaminants in the shoots and leaves of the plants, and then harvesting the crop and removing the contaminant from the site. Unlike the destructive degradation mechanisms, this technique yields a mass of plant and contaminant (typically metals) that must be transported for disposal or recycling. This is a concentration technology that leaves a much smaller mass to be disposed of when compared to excavation and landfilling. This technology is being evaluated in a Superfund Innovative Technology Evaluation (SITE) demonstration, and may also be a technology amenable to contaminant recovery and recycling. Phytoextraction is the name given to the process where plant roots absorb metal contaminants from the soil and translocate them to their above soil tissues. Phytoextraction, also called phytoaccumulation, refers to the uptake of metals from soil by plant roots into above-ground portions of plants (Figure 2). The concept of using plants to clean up contaminated environments is very old and cannot be traced to any particular source (Blaylock and Huang, 2000). Chaney (1983) was the first to reintroduce it as a remediation

technique on metal-contaminated soils. Initially, the concept was based on metal hyper-accumulating plants, which are able to uptake and tolerate extremely high levels of metals. In the past, extensive research has been conducted in the field of phytoextraction: searching for new phytoextractors (Baker and Brooks, 1989); providing more fundamental knowledge about metal uptake, translocation, and tolerance by plants (Rauser, 1995; Kramer et al., 1996; Lasat et al., 1998; Salt et al., 1999) as well as, improving plant metal accumulation and tolerance by genetic transformations (Karenlampi et al., 2000; Clemens et al., 2002; Kramer, 2005). Another approach in the concepts development was based on high biomass-producing plants used together with chemical agents to enhance metal solubility and uptake by plants (Blaylock et al., 1997; Huang et al., 1997). Certain plants, called hyper-accumulators, absorb unusually large amounts of metals in comparison to other plants. More than 400 plant species have been identified to have potential for soil and water remediation (Lone et al., 2008). As different plants have different abilities to uptake and withstand high levels of pollutants, many different plants may be used for phytoremediation. The strategies used in developing a phytoremediation plant are (a) screening of hyperaccumulator candidate plants, (b) plant breeding, and (c) development of improved hyperaccumulators using genetic tools. The hyperaccumulators that have been most extensively studied by scientific community include Thlaspi sp., Arabidopsis sp., Sedum alfredii sp. (both genera belong to the family of Brassicaceae and Alyssum). Thlaspi sp. are known to hyperaccumulate more than one metal, that is, T. caerulescens for Cd, Ni, Pb and Zn, T. goesingense for Ni and Zn, T. ochroleucum for Ni and Zn, and T. rotundifolium for Ni, Pb and Zn (Prasad and Freitas, 2003). Metal phytoextraction involves: 1) cultivation of the appropriate plant/crop species on the contaminated site; 2) removal of harvestable metal-enriched biomass from the site; and 3) post-harvest treatments (that is, composting, compacting, thermal treatments) to reduce the volume and/or weight of biomass for disposal as a hazardous waste or for its recycling to reclaim valuable metals. Two basic strategies of metal phytoextraction have been suggested, continuous or natural phytoextraction and induced, enhanced, or chemically assisted phytoextraction (Salt et al., 1998). After the plants have been allowed to grow for some time, they were harvested and either incinerated or composted to recycle the metals. This procedure may be repeated as necessary to bring soil contaminant levels down to allowable limits. If plants are incinerated, the ash must be disposed of in a hazardous waste landfill, but the volume of ash will be less than 10% of the volume that would be created if the contaminated soil itself were dug up for treatment. In some cases, it is possible to recycle the metals through a process known as phytomining, though;

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Figure 1. Phytoremediation Technology (ITRC, 2009).

Figure 2. Uptake of metals Ni by phytoextraction. Nickel is removed from soil by moving up into plant roots, stems, and leaves. The plant is then harvested and disposed of and the site replanted until the Ni in the soil is lowered to acceptable levels.

this is usually reserved for use with precious metals. Metals such as Ni, Zn, and Cu are the best candidates for removal by phytoextraction because the majority of the approximately 400 known plants that absorb unusually large amounts of metals have a high affinity for accumulating these metals. Plants that absorb Pb and Cr are currently being studied and tested. According to report, in the presence of vegetation, the exchangeable form of Cd was partly removed by plant uptake that accompanied with the intake of nutrition (Zhang et al., 2009). Cd-hyperaccumulating plant species are almost the only ones that can grow in soil solutions containing Cd concentrations as high as 35 mol/L (3.9 mg/L) (Brown et al., 1994; Xiao et al., 2008). Zhang et al. (2009) expressed that as Cd phytoextraction is observed by

maize, the percentage of exchangeable form of Cd decreased in the planted soil. Besides, plant root exudates and rhizosphere micro-organisms accelerated the stability process of added Cd in soils, which might make the exchangeable form transform to other relatively stable forms such as organic form and residual form and might help reduce the harm of Cd to soil and water environment. Similar finding of decrease in Cd level in soil planted with maize have also been reported by Mojiri (2011). Water soluble and exchangeable Pb are the only fractions readily available for uptake by plants. Oxyhydroxides, organic, carbonate, and precipitated forms of Pb are the most strongly bound to the soil. The capacity of the soil to adsorb Pb increases with increasing pH, CEC, organic carbon content, soil/water

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Eh (redox potential) and phosphate levels. In the natural setting, Pb hyper-accumulation has not been documented. However, certain plants have been identified which have the potential for Pb uptake (Henry, 2000). From the results of experiment conducted by Mojiri (2011), it was observed that the concentration of extractable Pb significantly decreased in the planted soil after 60 days of culture. It was clear that the concentration of extractable Pb in soil under all treatments decreased between 39.2 to 40.9%. Accumulation of Pb in root is higher than that in shoot; this showed that the root of corn is more active than shoot to phytoremediation of Pb. Therefore, crop plants like maize play a vital role as accumulator plants for metal polluted soils. The main bottlenecks limiting phytoextraction efficiency are 1) metal phytoavailability in the soil and 2) translocation of metals to the aboveground plant parts. To increase the phytoavailability and/or translocation of HMs, the use of soil amendments has been suggested and tested by several authors (Huang et al., 1997; Cooper et al., 1999; Kulli et al., 1999; Blaylock and Huang, 2000). Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA), in particular, has received much attention. It is a complexing agent that has been used in agriculture since the 1950s as an additive in micronutrient fertilizers (Wallace et al., 1992; Bucheli-Witschel and Egli, 2001). Recently, an experiment was conducted on the effect of EDTA on the phytoextraction ability of Eleusine indica (grass). Results revealed that the grass showed relatively good response to EDTA application and the higher levels of Cu and Cr concentration in the root suggested that the grass may be a good metal excluder with the possibility of extracting Pb from contaminated soils (Garba et al., 2012). Other substances that have been reported in literature include different synthetic aminopolycarboxylic acids diethylene triamine pentaacetic acid, nitriloacetate, organic acids, chlorides, ammonium isothiocyanate, sodium cyanide, elemental sulfur, fluoride solutions, hydrogen peroxide, ammonium fertilizers, and many others. Some of these compounds show great potential to substitute or complement mobilization by EDTA.

Rhizofiltration Rhizofiltration (rhizo means root) is the adsorption or precipitation onto plant roots (or absorption into the roots) of contaminants that are in solution surrounding the root zone. It is defined as the use of plants, both terrestrial and aquatic, to absorb, concentrate, and precipitate contaminants from polluted aqueous sources with low contaminant concentration in their roots. Rhizofiltration is similar to Phytoextraction but is concerned with the remediation of contaminated groundwater rather than the remediation of polluted soils. The contaminants are either adsorbed onto the root surface or are absorbed by the

plant roots. The plants to be used for clean-up are raised in greenhouses with their roots in water. Contaminated water is both collected from a waste site and brought to the plants, or the plants are planted in the contaminated area, where the roots then take up the water and the contaminants dissolved in it. As the roots become saturated with contaminants, they are harvested and disposed of safely. Rhizofiltration remediates metals like As, Pb, Cd, Ni, Cu, Cr, V and radionucliides (U, Cs and St). The ideal plants should produce significant amounts of root biomass or root surface area, be able to accumulate and tolerate significant amounts of target metals, involve easy handling and a low maintenance cost, and has a minimum of secondary waste that requires disposal. Terrestrial plants are more suitable for rhizofiltration because they produce longer, more substantial and often fibrous root systems with large surface areas or metal adsorption. Pteris vittata, commonly known as Chinese brake fern, is the first known As-hyper accumulator (Ma et al., 2001). Several aquatic species have the ability to remove HMs from water, including Water Pennywort (Hydrocotyle umbellate L.) (Dierberg et al., 1987), Duckweed (Lemna minor L.) (Mo et al., 1989) and Water Hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes (Mart.) Solms) (Zhu et al., 1999). Indian mustard (Brassica juncea) and sunflower (Helianthus annuus) are most promising for metal removal from water. Indian mustard effectively removes Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, and Zn (Dushenkov et al., 1995) whereas sunflower absorbs Pb (Dushenkov et al., 1995) and U (Dushenkov et al., 1997) from hydroponic solutions. Indian mustard could effectively remove a wide range (4 to 500 mg/L) of Pb concentration (Raskin and Ensley, 2000). Karkhanis et al. (2005) reported the result of their experiment conducted on rhizofiltration under greenhouse condition using pistia, duckweed and water hyacinth (E. crassipes) to remediate aquatic environment contaminated by coal ash containing HMs. The results showed that pistia has high potential capacity of uptake of the HMs (Zn, Cr, and Cu) and duckweed also showed good potential for uptake of these metals next to pistia. Rhizofiltration of Zn and Cu in case of water hyacinth was lower as compared to pistia and duckweed. In a recent study, the potential of water hyacinth (E. crassipes) weeds for phytoremediation of metal polluted soils by rhizofiltration method was reported by Mohanty and Patra (2011). The mine waste water at South Kaliapani chromite mining area of Orissa (India) +6 +6 showed high levels of toxic hexavalent (Cr ). Cr contaminated mine waste water poses potential threats for biotic community in the vicinity. The weeds significantly reduced (up to 54%) toxic concentrations of +6 Cr from contaminated mine waste water when passed through succeeding water hyacinth ponds. The reduction of toxic Cr level varied with the plant age and passage distance of waste water. Cr phytoaccumulation and BioConcentration Factor (BCF) was maximum at growing stage of plant that is, 75 days old plant. High BCF

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(10,924) and Transportation Index (32.09) for water hyacinth indicated that the weeds can be used as a tool of phytoremediation to combat the problem of in situ Cr contamination in mining areas (Mohanty and Patra, 2011). Therefore, plants like pistia/duckweed/water hyacinth can be effectively used for phytoremediation of HM polluted problem soils.

Phytostabilization Phytostabilization, also referred to as in-place inactivation, is primarily used for the remediation of soil, sediment, and sludges (United States Protection Agency, 2000). It is the use of plant roots to limit contaminant mobility and bioavailability in the soil and water. Contaminants are absorbed and accumulated by roots, adsorbed onto the roots, or precipitated in the rhizosphere. This reduces or even prevents the mobility of the contaminants preventing migration into the groundwater or air, and also reduces the bioavailability of the contaminant thus preventing spread through the food chain. This technique can also be used to re-establish a plant community on sites that have been denuded due to the high levels of metal contamination. Once a community of tolerant species has been established, the potential for wind erosion (and thus spread of the pollutant) is reduced and leaching of the soil contaminants is also reduced. The plants primary purposes are to (1) decrease the amount of water percolating through the soil matrix, which may result in the formation of a hazardous leachate, (2) act as a barrier to prevent direct contact with the contaminated soil and (3) prevent soil erosion and the distribution of the toxic metal to other areas (Raskin and Ensley, 2000). Phytostabilization can occur through the sorption, precipitation, complexation, or metal valence reduction. It is useful for the treatment of Pb as well as As, Cd, Cr, Cu and Zn. Some of the advantages associated with this technology are that the disposal of hazardous material/ biomass is not required (United States Protection Agency, 2000) and it is very effective when rapid immobilization is needed to preserve ground and surface waters. The presence of plants also reduces soil erosion and decreases the amount of water available in the system (United States Protection Agency, 2000). Phytostabilization has been used to treat contaminated land areas affected by mining activities and Superfund sites. Smith and Bradshaw (1992) developed two cultivars of Agrostis tenius and one of Festuca rubra, which are used for phytoremediation of the Pb, Zn and Cu contaminated soils. Phytostabilization, though most effective at sites having fine-textured soils with high organic matter content, can treat a wide range of surface contamination (Cunningham et al., 1995; Berti and Cunningham, 2000). Deep rooting plants could reduce the highly toxic Cr VI

to Cr III, which is much less soluble and therefore, less bioavailable (James, 2001). Phytostabilization does not require soil removal and/or disposal of the hazardous material or the biomass. An experiment was conducted under green house condition using sorghum (fibrous root grass) to remediate soil contaminated by HMs and the developed vermicompost was amended in contaminated soil as a natural fertilizer (Jadia and Fulekar, 2008). It was reported that growth was adversely affected by HMs at the higher concentration of 40 and 50 ppm, while lower concentrations (5 to 20 ppm) stimulated shoot growth and increased plant biomass. Moreover, HMs were efficiently taken up mainly by roots of sorghum plant at all the evaluated concentrations of 5, 10, 20, 40 and 50 ppm. The order of uptake of HMs was: Zn>Cu>Cd>Ni>Pb. The large surface area of fibrous roots of sorghum and intensive penetration of roots into the soil reduces leaching via stabilization of soil and capable of immobilizing and concentrating HMs in the roots. Recently, a study was conducted by Cheraghi et al. (2011) on phytostabilization using different plant species. Their results indicated that C. bijarensis, C. juncea, V. speciosum, S. orientalis, C. botrys, and S. barbata, had a high bioconcentration factor and low translocation factor for Mn, therefore having potential for the phytostabilization of Mn.

Phytovolatilization Phytovolatilization refers to the uptake and transpiration of contaminants, primary organic compounds by plants. The contaminant, present in the water taken up by the plant, passes through the plant or is modified by the plant, and is released to the atmosphere (evaporates or vaporizes). The contaminant may become modified along the way, as the water travels along the plants vascular system from the roots to the leaves, whereby the contaminants evaporate or volatilize into the air surrounding the plant. The use of phytoextraction and phytovolatilization of metals by plants offers a viable remediation on commercial projects (Sakakibara et al., 2007). Phytovolatilization has been primarily used for the removal of murcury, the mercuric ion is transformed into less toxic elemental Hg (Ghosh and Singh, 2005). Phytovolatilization has been successful in tritium (3H), a radioactive isotope of hydrogen; it is decayed to stable helium with a half-life of about 12 years. Phytovolatilization is the most controversial of all phytoremediation technologies. Some metals, like As, Hg and Se, may exist as gaseous state in the environment. Some naturally occurring or genetically modified plants, like Chara canescens (muskgrass), B. juncea (Indian mustard) and Arabidopsis thaliana, are reported to possess capability to absorb HMs and convert them to gaseous state within the plant and subsequently release them into the atmosphere (Ghose and Singh, 2005).

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Some plants growing in high Se media, for example, A. thaliana and B. juncea, produce volatile Se in the form of dimethylselenide and dimethyldiselenide. Similarly results from a study conducted on volatilization of heavy metals suggest that P. vittata is a plant species that is effective at volatilizing Arsenic (As); it removed about 90% of the total uptake of As from As-contaminated soils in the greenhouse, where the environment was similar to the subtropics (Sakakibara et al., 2007). However, if a large amount of arsenic had been released from the contaminated site into the atmosphere by the fern, the process may have caused a secondary As-contamination to the surrounding environments. Unlike other remediation techniques, once the contaminants have been removed via volatilization, one has no control over their migration to other areas. Similar cases of volatilization based soil remediation has also been reported in many recently published reports (Tangahu et al., 2011; Conesa et al., 2012)

Phytodegradation /phytotransformation Phytodegradation is the breakdown of organic contaminants within plant tissue. Plants produce enzymes, such as dehalogenase and oxygenase that help catalyze degradation. It appears that both the plants and the associated microbial communities play a significant role in attenuating contaminants.It is referred to the degradation or breakdown of organic contaminants by internal and external metabolic processes driven by the plant (Prasad and Freitas, 2003). Ex planta metabolic processes hydrolyse organic compounds into smaller units that can be absorbed by the plant. Some contaminants can be absorbed by the plant and are then broken down by plant enzymes. These smaller pollutant molecules may then be used as metabolites by the plant as it grows, thus becoming incorporated into the plant tissues. Plant enzymes have been identified that breakdown ammunition wastes, chlorinated solvents such as TCE (Trichloroethylene), and others which degrade organic herbicideds. Plant enzymes that metabolise contaminants may be released into the rhizosphere, where they may play active role in transformation of contaminants. Enzymes, like dehalogenase, nitroreductase, peroxidase, laccase and nitrilase, have been discovered in plant sediments and soils. Organic compounds such as munitions, chlorinated solvents, herbicides and insecticides and the inorganic nutrients can be degraded by this technology (Schnoor et al., 1995). The dissolved TNT (trinitrotoluene) concentrations in flooded soil decreased from 128 ppm within one week in the presence of the aquatic plant, Myriophyllum aquaticum, which produces nitroreductase enzyme that can partially degrade TNT (Schnoor et al., 1995). To engineer plant tolerance to TNT, two bacterial enzymes (PETN reductase and nitroreductase), able to reduce

TNT into less harmful compounds, were over-expressed in tobacco plants. The two genes onr and nfs , under the control of a constitutive promoter, provided the transgenic plants with increased tolerance to TNT at a concentration that severely affected the development of wild type plants (Hannink et al., 2001). The term Green Liver Model is used to describe phytotransformation, as plants behave analogously to the human liver when dealing with these xenobiotic compounds (foreign compound/ pollutant). After uptake of the xenobiotics, plant enzymes increase the polarity of the xenobiotics by adding functional groups such as hydroxyl groups (OH ). This is known as Phase I metabolism, similar to the way that the human liver increases the polarity of drugs and foreign compounds. Whilst in the human liver, enzymes such as Cytochrome P450s are responsible for the initial reactions (Yoon et al., 2008). In plants, enzymes such as nitroreductases carry out the same role. Similar results showing the role of phytotransformation in soil remediation have also been reported recently (Shukla et al., 2010). Phytoremediation is a potential remediation strategy that can be used to decontaminate soils contaminated with inorganic pollutants. Research related to this relatively new technology needs to be promoted and emphasized and expanded in developing countries since it is low cost. In situ, solar driven technology makes use of vascular plants to accumulate and translocate metals from roots to shoots. Harvesting the plant shoots can permanently remove these contaminants from the soil. Phytoremediation does not have the destructive impact on soil fertility and structure that some more vigorous conventional technologies have such as acid extraction and soil washing. This technology can be applied in situ to remediate shallow soil, ground water and surface water bodies. Also, phytoremediation has been perceived to be a more environmentally-friendly green and lowtech alternative to more active and intrusive remedial methods. The broader importance of protecting soils and improved management for the services they provide are currently receiving considerable attention from policymakers. Soils provide fundamental ecosystem services, with extensive economic, ecological, and sociological influences on the wellbeing of the human society. Metalcontaminated soils provide a significant but previously neglected component of the global soil resource. There is much scope to optimize the utilization of this resource for improved services. Phytoremediation does have real applications, but it is vital that it emerges as a realistic technology and in the right context. It has been tested successfully in many places around the world for many different contaminants (Table 1). Some of the recent applications of different plants for phytoremediation of metals and radionuclides are shown in Table 2. The unending use of various forms of HMs in industries and agriculture has been a serious concern of environmental pollution worldwide. HM uptake by plants due to

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Table 1. Extent of testing of phytoremediation across some sites in USA.

Location Ogden, UT Anderson, ST Ashtabula, OH Upton, NY Milan, TN Amana, IA Pennsylvania San Francisco, CA

Application Phytoextraction and rhizodegradation Phytostabilisation Rhizofiltration Phytoextraction Phytodegradation Riparian corridor, phytodegradation Phytoextraction mine wastes Phytovolatization

Pollutant Petroleum and hydrocarbons HMs Radionuclides Radionuclides Expolsives waste Nitrates Zinc and cadmium Se

Medium Soil and groundwater Soil Groundwater Soil Groundwater Groundwater Soil Refinery wastes and agricultural soils

Plants Alfalfa, poplar, juniper, fescue Hybrid poplar, grasses Sunflowers Indian mustard, cabbage Duckweed, parrot feather Hybrid poplar Thlaspi caerulescens Brassica sp.

(http://arabidopsis.info/students/dom/mainpage.html).

Table 2. Details of application of Phytoremediation.

Mechanism Phytoextraction Phytodegradation Phytostabilisation Extractionconcentration in shoot and root

Contaminant Zn, Cd, and As Pb, Cd Cd

Media Soil Soil Soil

Plant Datura stramonium and Chenopodium murale Jatropha curcas L. Sunflower Ipomoea aquatica Forsk, Eichhornia crassipes, (Mart.) Solms, Typha angustata Bory and Chaub, Echinochloa colonum (L.) Link, Hydrilla verticillata (L.f.) Royle, Nelumbo nucifera Gaerth. and Vallisneria spiralis L. Anogeissus latifolia, Terminalia arjuna, Tacomella undulata, Vetiveria, Sesbania, Viola, Sedum, Rumex Cassia fistula Anogeissus latifolia Catharanthus roseus Brassica juncea Nyssa sylvatica, Liquidambar styraciflua Cousinia bijarensis, Chondrila juncea, Chenopodium botrys

Status Applied Applied Applied

Reference Varun et al. (2012)

Mangkoedihardjo and Surahmaida (2008)

Zadeh et al. (2008)

Cd, Co, Cu, Ni, Pb and Zn

Wetlands

Field Demo

Kumar et al. (2008)

Phytodegradation Phytodegradation Phytodegradation Phytoextraction Phytoextraction Phytodegradation Phytoextraction Phytostabilisation

Total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH) Zn and Cd As Cr 137Cs U Uranium and Thorium Mn

Soil Soil Soil Soil Soil Soil Soil Soil

Field Demo Field Demo Applied Applied Applied Field Demo Field Demo Soil

Mathur et al. (2 010) Mukhopadhyay and Maiti, 2010) Preeti et al. (2011) Mathur et al. (2010) Fulekar et al. (2010) Huhle et al. (2008) Saritz (2005) Cheraghi et al. (2011)

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phytoremediation technology emerged to be a potential tool to remediate HMs from the contaminated soil and water.
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African Journal of Agricultural Research Vol. 7(28), pp. 4003-4009, 24 July, 2012 Available online at http://www.academicjournals.org/AJAR DOI: 10.5897/AJAR12.095 ISSN 1991-637X 2012 Academic Journals

Review

The concept of sustainable agriculture: Global and African perceptions with emerging issues from Swaziland
Banele L. Nkambule1 and Cliff S. Dlamini2*
Centre for Sustainable Agriculture, Faculty of Natural and Agriculture Sciences, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein 9301, South Africa. 2 Swaziland Institute for Research in Traditional Medicine, Medicinal and Indigenous Food Plants, University of Swaziland, Swaziland.
Accepted 6 June, 2012
1

This paper presents a review of literature in sustainable agriculture and related concepts, which entail economic, social and environmental considerations. It starts by introducing the concept of sustainable agriculture and the reasons behind its promotion in the modern day agriculture industry. The concept of sustainable agriculture is discussed together with the principles of sustainable agriculture and some concerns in agriculture. Changes which are a threat to sustainable food and fibre production include a decline in agriculture production, increasing fuel and transportation costs, increase in food prices, population growth, environmental degradation, climate change, flaws of global market, decreasing biodiversity, desertification, reduction in water supply and quality. Global and national development in agriculture through the use of irrigation water is highlighted as a technology advance in modern agriculture. Finally, this paper discusses anticipated future developments in as far as smallholder irrigation is concerned in Swaziland. Key words: Sustainability, agriculture, economic, social, environmental.

INTRODUCTION Sustainability and agriculture development The concept of sustainable agriculture These days the word sustainable agriculture has become a main issue of dialogue or rather a buzzword among scientists and policy makers as a means to express their vision for better agriculture. According to Rehber and Grega (2008), the vision for better agriculture is based on the 1992 Rio Declaration on Environmental and Development, Chapter 14 of Agenda 21, adopted by the UN General Assembly, and on the 1996 Rome Declaration on World Food Security. The advances for better agriculture development have been due to the fact that agriculture is proclaimed to have a significant contribution to the negative changes the world is currently experiencing in the natural environment. It has been observed that human activities around agriculture development have led to huge losses of soil through soil erosion, loss of organic matter and loss of the biotic capacity of soils to nurture plant growth, structural deterioration, compaction and hard setting, nutrient imbalance and leaching, salinity, and diminution of root zone-moisture characteristics, as manifested through reduced water holding capacity and infiltration, draughtiness or water logging (Chel and Kaushik, 2011). Secondly, the changes in land use for agriculture are attributed to climate change which increases temperatures and reduces water supply in soils therefore leading to reduced crop yields per hectare (ha). Furthermore, the changes in land use patterns have resulted in deforestation, desertification, overgrazing and pollution by fertilizers herbicides and pesticides. Jordan and Constance (2008) states that the current state of

*Corresponding author. E-mail: csdlamini@uniswa.sz. Tel: +268 25185276.

cliffsdlamini@ymail.com, 6766612: Fax: +268

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affairs is a result of revolutions that have been taking place in agriculture: human beings shifting from traditional farming methods to modern techniques of plant and animal production. Therefore, since the publication of Agenda 21, agricultural sustainability has become a priority as the world strives to increase food production and enhance food security in an environmentally sound way, so as to contribute to sustainable natural resource management. In view of the fact that sustainable agriculture is a direction not a destination, there is no universal definition of sustainable agriculture. Several authors and organizations worldwide give their own definitions of sustainable agriculture. Despite all the different definitions, all the authors agree with the fact that a sustainable agriculture project must be capable of maintaining its productivity and usefulness to the society over the long run, it must be environmentally sound, resource-conserving, economically viable and socially supportive, and commercially competitive (Dantsis et al., 2009; Lichtfouse et al., 2009). Chel and Kaushik (2011) regard agricultural sustainability as a societal goal to be pursued forever and for everyone. The concept of sustainable agriculture is guided by five principles (productivity, security, protection, profitability, and social justice) which are briefly discussed subsequently. Principles of sustainable agriculture Maintenance and development of production and services (productivity): Sustainable agriculture calls for appropriate land use and management practices for the achievement of increased yields and improved food production to feed the world population and to reduce poverty. According to Lichtfouse et al. (2009), farming systems should be able to reach economic viability, environmental protection and social justice through the use of fewer inputs without reducing the yields considerably. Therefore, this requires shifts to crops with higher yields or value, less inputs per unit of production, and higher standards of management in terms of technology and agronomic practices. This should then result in higher output per farmer and more job opportunities in the agriculture service sectors. In addition, agricultural production technologies should be more carefully tailor made to local environmental conditions, and farming systems should be more flexible, more diversified and developed on a broader genetic base in order to increase input efficiency and valueadded marketing.

agriculture investment, now the emphasis is on higher economic efficiencies to increase agriculture production even under the conflict of higher price of inputs versus the low price of agricultural products. Therefore, farmers must be able to evaluate business, technical and market risks associated with their agricultural enterprise.

Natural resources conservation and prevention of degradation (protection): Sustainable agriculture emphasizes that agriculture production practices must work within the bounds of nature not against them. This entails matching land uses to the constraints of the local environment, planning for production not exceeding the biological potentials of the area, carefully limiting fertilizer, pesticides and other inputs to ensure that they do not exceed the capacity of the environment to absorb and filter any excess. Moreover, sustainable agricultural systems should maintain or improve ground water and surface water quality as well as regenerate healthy agricultural soils.

Economic viability (profitability): Since the concept of sustainable agriculture advocates for a healthy agroecosystem, it must be profitable to motivate those implementing it. Therefore, economic viability comprises profit maximization through proper selection of enterprises, sound financial planning, proactive marketing, risk management and good management. In addition, sustainable agriculture advocates for change of government policies in order to promote the economic viability of agricultural enterprises that are not a threat to the ecosystem.

Social acceptability (social justice): A sustainable agricultural system improves the quality of life of individuals and communities. There is no sustainability if an agricultural enterprise is ecologically sound and economically viable in the absence of social justice. Agricultural enterprise must fairly meet the basic food and fibre needs of human beings, must provide economic opportunities for both owner and neighbours in a community setting, must support self-determination, and ensure social equity for both current and future generations. Social acceptability must ensure that agriculture works within the bounds of the society, not against it. Indicators of such include equity, social mobility, social cohesion, empowerment, cultural identity, and institutional development.

Reduction of production risk (security): In the past, farmers believed that increasing agricultural inputs was the most effective way to raise yields and considered produce price as the primary factor in agricultural production (Ma et al., 2009). In order to reduce risk in

Global concerns on modern agriculture development Since agriculture is the backbone for economic development in a majority of developing countries, issues

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of its sustainability are vital for addressing some of the major current concerns in agriculture development worldwide. Included among the changes which are a threat to sustainable food and fibre production decline in agriculture production, increasing fuel and transportation costs, increase in food prices, population growth, environmental degradation, climate change, flaws of global market, decreasing biodiversity, desertification, reduction in water supply and quality, etc (Lichtfouse et al., 2009; Dantsis et al., 2009; Rehber and Grega, 2008). Developing countries are more affected by the challenges as food security is a growing challenge and it is also anticipated that developing countries will have a larger proportion of population growth. Therefore, it is very imperative for developing countries to engage in sustainable agriculture production in order to meet the food and fibre demand of their populations even with the changing weather conditions. The changes in weather conditions which involve the recurrent drought situations, especially in the South African region, continue to negatively impact economic development efforts by governments towards improved food security and smallholder agriculture development.

SMALLHOLDER AGRICULTURE DEVELOPMENT Africa: Strategies to improve smallholder production According to Panahi et al. (2009), agriculture is still the largest productive sector in the economies of both developed and developing countries since it is the source of most economic growth, employment and the largest contributor to export revenues. However, in Africa, the growth of agricultural production has been disappointing as the per capita agricultural productivity has remained stagnant for over 40 years (Panahi et al., 2009; Jama and Pizaro, 2008). This happens in a region where about two thirds of the population live in the rural areas and are smallholder farmers who are dependent on agriculture for livelihoods (Toenniessen et al., 2008). The reasons behind the poor performance of the agriculture sector in Africa as stated by scientists and researchers include, 1) policy and institutional failures; 2) economic and financial challenges; 3) declining investments, 4) the inability of technology and water resources to supply the growing demand; 5) poverty and rural income challenges; and 6) environmental factors and the sustainability factor. Kydd et al. (2004) further state that the disappointing performance in agriculture and the high poverty levels in Africa compared to other regions are due to poor governance, uncertain price of products, uncertain market opportunities, low rainfalls and small land under irrigation. As a result of the poor performance of the agriculture sector, approximately half of the people living in rural areas are living in extreme poverty, earning less than

$1/day, and one third are estimated to be undernourished. Despite the poor agricultural performance, African countries still believe that with substantial investments and necessary support, smallholder farming can be productive and engage in competitive markets. Such support may include soil fertility improvement, improved seeds, market access, extension services, access to credit, improvement in weather forecasts, etc. According to Jama and Pizarro (2008), the promotion of improved agriculture performance through smallholder development can drive poverty in three broad dimensions, 1) the direct effects of increased agricultural productivity and income on the rural poor; 2) benefits of cheaper foods for both the urban and rural poor; and 3) agricultural contribution to economic growth and the generation of more opportunities in the farming sector. Therefore, many African countries have made huge investments in irrigated agriculture for smallholder development as a means to meet the demand for food that is coming up with the growing population. Panahi et al. (2009) stated that water management is critical for future growth and social wealth in both developed and developing countries. This is true given that within the agriculture sector, irrigated farming enhances value adding, farmers income, and food security at global, national and at household level by rapidly meeting the rising demand for food at affordable prices.

The role of smallholder irrigation in sustainable agriculture Literature reviewed by Smith (2004) indicated that the contribution of irrigation, especially in smallholder irrigation schemes, can either be positive or negative depending on the management practices applied. The subsequent discussion concerns the contribution of irrigation towards the objectives of sustainable agriculture:

Improved agricultural productivity Where all conditions are favourable, irrigation can boost agricultural productivity in the following ways: It improves productivity by ensuring adequate water throughout the growing season, resulting in higher yields and high quality farm produce; securing a crop where rainfall is inadequate or too variable; allowing growth of multiple crops by making water available throughout the year and also cultivation of new crops or varieties for which market opportunities exist; improving the timeliness and /or crop duration, allowing area expansion and/or increased cropping intensities; enabling farmers to adopt timing of production to market demand and higher prices, to take advantage of good weather conditions, or to avoid

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adverse weather conditions; facilitating multiple farm enterprises around livestock, crops and agro-processing; and raising farm household and hired labour productivity as a result of high output expectations.

Reducing of production risk Since agriculture investment analysts emphasis is now on higher economic efficiencies to increase agriculture production even under the conflict of higher price of inputs versus the low price of agricultural products. Irrigation can reduce production risks through reducing flooding, water-logging and soil salinization (if well designed); allowing farmers to diversify into high value crops or enterprises instead of specialization or the lowvalue subsistence diversification; enabling management of the micro-climate to reduce incidence of frost or low temperatures that damage crops; allowing the use of complementary inputs such as improved seeds and fertilizers thus reducing the risk of low yield and returns; offering increased, more continuous and more evenly spread farm employment and improved wages to landless and marginal households; and by improving security against impoverishment and the need to dispose assets or enter into debt by marginal households.

derive multiple usage of water such as water for drinking, washing, homestead gardens and for livestock drinking. With regards to infrastructure development, irrigation improves communication, market access, farm support services and eases transport of farm inputs and outputs. On the other hand, irrigation can worsen poverty if it involves land consolidation in which poor households lose rights to land or if it involves the displacement of labour by mechanization or extensive herbicide usage.

Contribution to economic growth At community level, irrigation improves the productivity of assets (land and human capital). It also improves the ability of households to engage in high value crops, intensified livestock, and access to capital and market opportunities. Through improved productivity, irrigation increases income for both household and employed labour. It also stimulates the ease of farm input supply, output processing and distribution enterprises hence lowering the price of food. At national level, irrigation ensures investment in agriculture itself, it improves the supply of food, raw materials and exports (gain in foreign exchange), it realizes surplus capital and labour to the non-farming sector; and it stimulates demand for local goods and services.

Natural resources conservation and degradation Irrigation can impact the environment in the sense that poor designs, construction or operation and maintenance can have upstream or downstream impacts such as water-logging, salinization and groundwater pollution through increased usage of agro-chemicals. On the other hand, positive impacts of irrigated farming can increase farmers ability to invest in land improvements that enhance sustainability, by reducing pressure on surrounding marginal areas. In addition, through the use of improved cultivars, agro-chemicals and the availability of irrigation water agricultural intensification can be expanded to marginal areas. Sustainability of smallholder irrigation projects: Africa As a result of wide spread poverty in Africa, many of its countries have put smallholder agricultural development as a priority in all their development programmes. Since water is important for the productivity of a society and the livelihood of its members, many countries have promoted irrigation development over the years. The key objective is to ensure that irrigated agriculture adds value to the agriculture sector, increases farmers income, and improves food security at household, national and global level in order to rapidly meet the rising demand for food at affordable prices (Panahi et al., 2009). Many of the irrigation projects have been supported by public funds, either national or international and implemented by state or government agencies who take charge of project management and other guarantee services. Despite all the huge investments by the national and international stakeholders on smallholder irrigation, Yves le-gal et al. (2003), Manyatsi (2005), Fanadzo et al. (2010), Malaza and Myeni (2009) and Tapela (2008) reported that irrigation schemes are faced with the challenge of ensuring long-term sustainability. As a result, many of the irrigation schemes are not performing up to the expected standard hence continued decline in agricultural productivity, especially in the rural areas. The challenges range from technical level (maintaining and

Contribution reduction

to

societal

growth

and

poverty

Irrigation agriculture contributes to the empowerment, access to rights and improved quality of life for the rural poor. Through capacity enhancement on livelihood improvement, irrigated farming can increase access to decision making, and support independency, selfconfidence and assertiveness. It also promotes and enhances the capability for collective action and participation in community activities. In addition, it improves households ability to pay for utilities, goods and services like health and education. Households may also

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replacing the hydraulic infrastructure, poor agronomic practices leading to low yields); to economic level (covering the long-term water costs, high debt, low farm income, market constraints and high input costs), social level to (conflicts, exclusions, and continued poverty), to ecological level (preserving water and soils under irrigation). A study conducted by Fanadzo et al. (2010) in South Africa reported that smallholder irrigation schemes are performing poorly and have not yielded the intended objectives of increasing crop production and improving rural livelihoods. This has been attributed to limited knowledge of irrigated crop production. In addition, studies conducted in other African countries indicate that although irrigation plays a fundamental role in world food provision, up to date, it has performed below expectations in Sub-Saharan Africa (Garcia-Bolanos et al., 2011; Panahi et al., 2009). In Swaziland, Malaza and Myeni (2009) indicated that farmers under the Komati Downstream Development Project (KDDP) have a sustainability challenge which can be ascribed to combined factors including smallholder management practices, institutional capacities and external capacities. Furthermore, Manyatsi (2005) concluded that smallholder irrigation schemes in the country are far from addressing the livelihood security in the rural areas.

190,000 ha (178,000 ha is under annual crops and 12,000 ha is under permanent crops). Maize is the major crop in SNL because maize is the countrys staple food. However, there has been a noticed increase in the number of farmers in SNL growing sugar cane, especially those under irrigation. The irrigation potential for the country, based on the physical land capability and water availability, is estimated at 93,220 ha. Mlilo et al. (2011) reported that about 50,000 ha of the irrigated land is used for sugar cane production. Over 84% of the irrigated land is in the Lowveld, with 15% in the Middleveld. Concerning the types of irrigation, the author stated that about 52% of the land is under surface irrigation, while 48% is on other systems (draglines, fixed sprinklers and centre pivots). About 4000 ha of the irrigated land is under smallholder farmers mostly managed schemes, and irrigated mainly by overhead methods.

Smallholder irrigation in Swaziland As a result of the importance of agriculture in Swazilands economy, the government has prioritized water driven agriculture development programmes. It is anticipated that water will stimulate economic development by its contribution to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) via agriculture export earnings and improved livelihoods of the people. Water development is critical in rural development because it promotes the development of other infrastructure like roads, electricity and potable water, communication and provision of better health and education for the rural poor. Since the challenges of poor agriculture productivity are most felt in the rural areas, the irrigated agriculture development programmes are implemented in SNL. These are aimed to raise productivity and enable small scale Swazi farmers to convert from principally subsistence to commercial crop production (Terry, 2007). Consequently, the government has made huge investments in constructing and operating dams as a means of mitigating poverty in the rural areas. Such investments include, firstly, the (KDDP) on the Komati River in the northern Lowveld, irrigating 7,400 ha and dependent upon the Maguga Dam which was completed in 2002. The second is the ongoing Lower Usuthu Irrigation Project (LUSIP) which will service 14,500 ha in the southern Lowveld. Sugarcane is by far the dominant irrigated crop in the country, covering over 91% (more than 50,000 ha) of the harvested irrigated cropped area hence the largest single foreign exchange earner in the country (SADC, 2006). Therefore, the government is at the forefront in implementing irrigated agriculture development programmes with primary interest in the sugarcane industry of the country. Sugar cane is preferred because of its strong organizational structure and improved

AGRICULTURE IN SWAZILAND Overview of national context The kingdom of Swaziland is a small landlocked country 2 with a total area of 17,364 km , located in South eastern Africa bordered by Mozambique to the east and the Republic of South Africa on all the other sides. Swaziland is located at latitude 31 30 east of Greenwich and longitude 26 30 south of the equator. The country is characterized and traversed by four agro- ecological zones (AEZs), namely Highveld, Middleveld, Lowveld and the Lubombo. Annual rainfall ranges from 500 to 1500 mm, with an average of 788 mm per annum (GOS, 2010). Politically, the country is divided into four administrative districts, each administered by a Regional Administrator. There is Hhohho in the North West, Manzini in the centre (Midwest), Shiselweni in the south and Lubombo in the east. The districts are transgressed by the AEZs. The countrys population is estimated at 1,126,000 inhabitants, with annual growth rate of 2% (CSO, 2010). The total renewable water resources of the country are 3 4.51 km /year, of which 42% originates from South Africa. Irrigation uses about 90 to 95% of the water resources in the country (Lankford, 2001). Efforts towards improvement of agricultural productivity especially under SNL are constrained by the lack of water. According to Mlilo et al. (2011), the cultivated area is estimated at

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irrigation facilities hence reduced risks. Thus it is able to attract the private banking sector to finance on-farm development based on the estimated market value of future production. Because of the organized structure, lenders are able to collect their loan repayments via the sugar mills which are the primary receipt point for sugar sales proceeds. However, the sustainability of smallholder irrigation schemes cannot be guaranteed given the fact that the viability of sugar cane has been adversely affected by changes to the European Union (EU) Sugar Protocol. This has been confirmed by Malaza and Myeni (2009) who reported that a majority of the smallholder farmers under KDDP are unable to pay their loans back and might be forced out of production. In addition, the authors stated that the problem will be exacerbated by the increase of internal conflicts within the farmers associations as farmers are now becoming suspicious of their partners and committee members regarding financial security. The implementation of smallholder irrigation schemes in the country has been viewed differently by some authors. Matondo in 2001 [cited in Lankford (2001)] argues that the success of the sugar sector and increasing area under irrigation does not necessarily imply a healthy food security situation for the country, hence a need to promote crop diversification to reduce the risk of over-reliance on an exported cash crop. The author suggests two options for smallholder irrigation in Swaziland, which is to continue to provide and support formal smallholder irrigation that is able to cultivate cash crops, and to support traditional small-scale irrigation focused on food security by rural people. On the other hand, Manyatsi (2005) alleges that the contribution of small scale irrigation is constrained by lack of policy on agriculture and irrigation, lack of financial resources, lack of proper training, lack of adequate market for produce, and lack of appropriate technology irrigated agriculture. Lankford (2001), concerned about the sustainability of smallholder irrigation schemes, stated that further developments should consider issues of technology selection and design for management; institutional support for smallholder irrigation, and lastly the long term economic analysis of the scheme. Future developments According to the Swaziland National Development Strategy of 1995 (cited in Lankford, 2001), the following sites have been identified for future development of smallholder irrigation development projects: 1. Along the Black Mbuluzi and White Mbuluzi Rivers in the Lowveld east of Vuvulane and along the Nkalashane River in the Lubombo region north of the Mbuluzi. 2. In the lower Mtilane basin and the lower Little Usuthu basin. 3. In the Mkhondvo basin in the middle reaches of the

Mkhondvo River and along the Ndlatane River. 4. The lower Great Usuthu basin (potentially the largest area of irrigable land) particularly in the Mabopheni area. 5. South of Ngwavuma River in the eastern Lowveld region (having the largest tracts of good to excellent soils), and also in the vicinity of the Ngwavumas confluence with the basin of Nsongweni River and the upstream from its confluence with the Mantambe River. The literature review reveals that smallholder irrigation has a potential of addressing the challenge of low agricultural productivity in the country, but its ability is constrained by some sustainability factors. Then there is a need to understand and address the issue of sustainability within smallholder irrigation projects to improve their viability and improve food security in the rural communities.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The University of the Free State and the University of Swaziland are highly appreciated for their invaluable support throughout the preparation of this review paper. Special thanks go to all authors cited in the text.

REFERENCES Chel A, Kaushik G (2011). Renewable energy for sustainable agriculture. Agron. Sustain. Dev. 31:91-118. CSO (Central Statistic Office). 2010. Ministry of Economic Planning and Development. Swaziland. Dantsis, T, Loumou A, Giourage C (2009). Organic agricultures approach towards sustainability; its relationship with the agroinductrial complex, A case study in Central Macedonia, Greece. J. Agric. Environ. Ethics 22:197-216. Fanadzo M, Chiduza C, Mukeni PNS, van der Stoep I, Stevens J (2010). Crop production management practices as a cause for low water productivity at Zanyokwe irrigation scheme. Water SA, 36: 1: 27-36. GOS (2010). SADC regional agricultural policy. Swaziland Country Report, Zero Draft. Ministry of Agriculture, Swaziland. Jama B, Pizarro G (2008). Agriculture in Africa: Strategies to improve and sustain smallholder production systems: Ann. N. Y. Acad. Sci. 1136:218-232. Jordan J, Constance DH (2008). Sustainable agriculture and the social sciences: Getting beyond best management practices and into food systems. South. Rural Soc. 23(1):1-22. Kydd J, Dorward A, Morrison J, Cadisch G (2004). Agricultural development and pro-poor economic growth in Sub-Saharan Africa: Potential and policy. Oxford Dev. Stud. 32(1):37-57. Lankford BA (2001). The rise of large scale formal smallholder irrigation schemes in Swaziland; An appropriate solution for rural livelihoods and agricultural production? Issue paper, School of Development Studies, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK. Lichtfouse E, Navarrete M, Debaeke P, Souchere V, Alberola C, Menessiecu J (2009). Agronomy for sustainable agriculture. A review. Agron. Sustain. Dev. 29:1-6. Ma Y, Chen L, Zhao X, Zheng H, Lu Y (2009). What motivates farmers to participate in sustainable agriculture? Evidence and policy implications. Inter. J. Sustain. Dev. World Ecol. 16(6):374-380. Malaza S, Myeni DM (2009). Integrating smallholder growers into competitive sugar production. Proc. S. Afr. Sug. Technol. Ass. 82:405-408.

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Manyatsi AM (2005). Smallholder Irrigated Agriculture and Poverty Alleviation in Swaziland. Paper presented in WARFSA/Waternet/GWPSA Symposium held at Ezulwini, Swaziland on 1st to 3rd November 2005. Mlilo P, Mhlanga NB, Senzenje AND (2011). Emerging issues in water resources management in Swaziland. http://iasc2008.glos.ac.uk. 28 May Panahi F, Malekmohammadin I, Chizari M, Samani JMV (2009). The role of optimizing agricultural water resource management to livelihood poverty abolition in Rural Iran. Austar. J. Basic Appl. Sci. 3(4):3841-3849. Rehber E, Grega L (2008). Agriculture, trade and sustainability. Eur. Leg. 13(4):463-479. SADC Review (2006). Swaziland Agriculture. SADC Review 10th Anniversary, 1997-2006. Smith LED (2004). Assessment of the contribution of irrigation to poverty reduction and sustainable livelihoods. Water Resour. Dev. 20(2):243-257.

Tapela BN (2008). Livelihoods in the wake of agricultural commercialization in South Africas poverty notes: insights from small-scale irrigation schemes in Limpompo Province. Dev. South. Afr. 25(2):181-198. Terry A (2007). The Komati Downstream Development Project: Achievements and Challenges. Tijdschrift voor Economische en Sociale Geografie. 98(5):641-651. Toenniessen G, Adesina A, Devries J (2008). Building an alliance for a green revolution in Africa. Ann. N. Y. Acad. Sci. 1136:233-242. Yves le-gal P, Rieu T, Fall C (2003). Water pricing and sustainability of self-governing irrigation schemes. Irrigation and Drainage Systems 17: 213-238.

African Journal of Agricultural Research Vol. 7(28), pp. 4010-4020, 24 July, 2012 Available online at http://www.academicjournals.org/AJAR DOI: 10.5897/AJAR12.056 ISSN 1991-637X 2012 Academic Journals

Review

A review of the poverty and food security issues in South Africa: Is agriculture the solution?
Tshuma, M. C.
Department of Agricultural Economics and Extension, University of Fort Hare, P. Bag X1314, Alice, 5700, South Africa. E-mail: mengezit@gmail.com. Tel: +27 (0) 47 532 4601. Fax: +27 (0) 86 518 2541.
Accepted 15 June, 2012

Poverty and high levels of food insecurity have been some of the biggest problems facing the nation of South Africa since the early days of democracy. Whilst the black majority hoped for a more improved economy after the countrys first democratic elections, the legacy of apartheid laws has made the reality to be a different story. Yes, it is true that the nation has continued to grow over the last decade but only the minority has enjoyed this growth at the expense of the majority. This paper attempts to review the situation in South Africa (SA) through discussing food insecurity and the different faces of poverty faced by the citizens of this rainbow nation. This paper covers a number of concepts, which include the concept of food security, poverty, their definitions and application in South Africas context. Poverty situation and their indicators in South Africa were also discussed. The paper advocates for the development of small-scale agricultural system in rural areas, provision of financial support and commercialization of the farm produce as the means to reduce poverty, achieve food security and decimate the high rate of unemployment in South Africa. Key words: Poverty, food security, smallholder agriculture, rural development.

INTRODUCTION Food security Food security is part of section 27 of the constitutional rights in South Africa (SA) (Department of Agriculture, 2002). Concerning these rights, the SA constitution states that, every citizen has the right to have access to sufficient food and water, and that the state must, by legislation and other measures, within its available resources, avail to progressive realization of the right to sufficient food. The Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP) in 1994 identified food security as a priority policy objective. As a result, the government reprioritized public spending to focus on the food security conditions of the historically disadvantaged people. In terms of definition, the concept of food security has many interpretations. For instance, at the 1974 World Food Summit, it was defined by the United Nations (1975) as the availability at all times of adequate world food supplies of basic foodstuffs to sustain a steady expansion of food consumption and to offset fluctuations in production and prices. This definition has been refined and re-refined over the years in an attempt to come up with a more common and comprehensive one that encompasses all aspects of food security. For the purposes of this paper, the definition used was postulated by FAO (2002). It regards food security at individual, household, national, regional and global levels as being achieved when all people, at all times, have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food to meet their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life. This definition was partly constructed from the earlier works of Campbell (1991) who insists that the acquisition of sufficient food in defining food security should be through socially accepted means such as purchasing without having to beg, rely on charity or steal. If anyone does not have access to such socially accepted norms with which to acquire the right quantity and quality of food at the right times, then, they are thus, considered as food insecure. In short, all these definitions encompass just three main aspects which Latham (1997) documented as food availability, food access and food adequacy. The aspect of food availability means that the food required has to be available at the right time and in right quantities and quality. Therefore, food availability, though crucial in ensuring food security, does not guarantee it as this food

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should also be adequate both in quantity and quality. One of the most vital objectives of being food secure is to lead a healthy life. With this in mind, Latham (1997) holds the view that not only should food be available in correct quantities and quality when needed but its supply should be consistent in order to sustain a healthy life in terms of ensuring proper growth, resistance or recovery from disease, pregnancy, lactation and or physical work. This means that the means used to acquire this food should be always available so that the required quality and quantities of food can be accessed at any given time, from anywhere. The Department of Agriculture (2002) acknowledges the importance of these three aforementioned aspects of food security but stresses that these should exist within a certain food production system in order to achieve food security effectively and efficiently. This food system should have the capacity to produce, store, distribute and if necessary, import sufficient food to meet the basic food needs of the people. It should also be robust enough to reduce vulnerability to market fluctuations and political pressures, together with minimal seasonal, cyclical and other variations in access to food. Poverty According to the Studies in Poverty and Inequality Institute (SPII) (2007), poverty is a greatly contested concept as defining and measuring what is unacceptable in a society means a lot about the way we as humans would like things to be. In defining poverty though, consensus has been around including issues such as having access to a far wider range of resources than those necessary to ensure mere survival. These different resources are needed in order to promote social solidity and comprehensiveness which are inherent in the right to human dignity. Unlike food security which is limited only to having the right type of food in correct quality and quantities, poverty encompasses other important basic human needs such as safe drinking water, sanitation facilities, health, shelter, education and information. Shinns and Lyne (2004) regard these goods and services as essential to human well-being. To define the concept of poverty formally, Frye (2005) suggests this be done in two ways, namely, in absolute and relative terms. Absolute poverty: To understand poverty in absolute terms, Frye (2005) proposes that reference be made to a certain quantitative measure which is used to distinguish the poor from the non-poor. Thus, the ability to purchase the minimal quantity of basic goods and services required for human survival should be used to distinguish the poverty status of different individuals in absolute terms (Frye, 2005). The fact that the concept is defined by measuring individuals purchasing power means that income is a strong factor to be considered when ranking the absolute poverty status of people.

Anyone whose income is below a certain level or threshold is regarded as poor. The Copenhagen Declaration of 1995 regards absolute poverty as a characteristic that defines most poor countries (SPII, 2007). Its existence in a community can be identified through the severe deprivation of basic human needs such as food, safe drinking water, sanitation facilities, health, education and information. Thus, it goes beyond lack of income to buy the minimum required food basket. From the social point of view, the United Nations (UN) (2009) says it manifests itself through hunger and malnutrition, ill-health, limited or lack of access to education and other basic services, increased morbidity and mortality from illness; homelessness and inadequate housing; unsafe environments; and social discrimination and exclusion. It is also characterized by a lack of participation in decisionmaking and in civil, social and cultural life. Relative poverty: A more formal definition of poverty should embrace more than just financial issues. Townsend (1979) elaborates and states that it should also emphasize the individuals involvement and participation in the societies they live in. With this in mind, Townsend (1979) formally defines relative poverty as a situation that exists when individuals, families and groups in the population lack the resources to obtain the types of diet, participate in the activities and have the living conditions and amenities which are customary or at least widely encouraged or approved, in the societies to which they belong. Their resources are so seriously below those commanded by the average individual or family that they are, in effect, excluded from the ordinary living patterns, customs and activities. Put in a different way, relative poverty attempts to understand inequality in terms of distributions of resources in a society (Frye, 2005). Unlike absolute poverty that measures the number of households that are unable to afford certain basic goods and services, this concept seeks to measure the extent to which financial resources of these households fall below an average income threshold for the economy. Thus, ones poverty status is measured against other people within the same society hence; the concept argues that an individual is poor when he/she is very much worse off than other people in their society. Chronic poverty: This type of poverty encompasses both relative and absolute poverty. Instead of focusing on what actually results in poverty, chronic poverty is about the duration of that period of deprivation. Aliber (2001) describes it as a situation whereby people continue to live under circumstances of deprivation for a very long period of time, without any means with which to support themselves. Thus, under chronic poverty, the most important thing to consider is the duration of this state of lack more than what actually caused it. Mathole (2005) agrees with Aliber (2001) in that the household or

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individuals inability to sustain themselves through difficult times due to factors like lack of opportunities shows the existence of chronic poverty.

A REVIEW OF THE POVERTY SITUATION IN SOUTH AFRICA According to the World Bank (2001), the sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) region has about 250 million people living in dire poverty. This translates to around 45% of the regions total population. Moikowa (2004) writes that the continent of Africa has the highest number of Least Developed Countries (LDCs), with 32 of the worlds 48 least developed countries found in the continent. The majority of the poor in these LDCs live on less than $2 a day and another handful on less than $1 a day (World Bank, 2002). As a consequence, eight out of every 100 infants do not live to see their fifth birthday. Furthermore, nine of every 100 boys and 14 of every 100 girls who reach school age do not attend school (World Bank, 2002). South Africas poverty situation is not different in any way. Whatever type of poverty is studied, the fact remains that despite South Africas abundance of resources, the skewed distribution of these resources has meant that the majority of the citizens are still deprived of their fair share of them. For this reason, it is not surprising that the poverty levels in SA have continued to rise even as the country continues to develop. As May (2000) puts it, the experience of South Africans is either that of outright poverty or of continued vulnerability to becoming poor. At the present moment, there are so many South Africans in need of basic resources such as food, proper shelter and sanitation, clean water and health care facilities etc. The greatest wealth of the nation remains in the hands of the minority. Even with the attainment of democracy, racial segregation is still not a thing of the past. Literature from Mathole (2005) also points out that the most disadvantaged racial group in South Africa seems to be the black community, with 61% of its population classified as poor. This is followed by the coloureds (38%), Asians (5%) and Whites only contribute 1% towards the nations poor population. Due to such a skewed distribution of the nations wealth, Mathole (2005) thus, considers SA as a country with two countries, one being a Third World and the other is a First World. The most common notion is that the prevailing socioeconomic situation in the country is a direct result of the past, the fruit of a historical harvest (Voster, 1991). Be that as it may, Mathole (2005) insists that the legacy of apartheid should not be taken to imply that the citizens of the country are nothing but just prisoners of their past. Instead, they have a vision that they should work towards accomplishing but without forgetting their past. Democracy has paved way for the previously

disadvantaged to be recognized in their respective communities and live better lives than before. Even though development policies have not accomplished a complete reversal of the legacy of apartheid, the SA government has tried to make a better life for all by making everyone equal and with equal resources regardless of skin colour. What should be noted though, is that poverty is not only based on race but other social characteristics such as gender. Oettle et al. (1998) provides evidence that the most affected households are those headed by females, especially, in the deepest corners of rural areas. It is true that male-headed households also carry the burden of poverty but womenheaded ones suffer it the most for various reasons. This means that development initiatives and policies should also be implemented with women in mind to have a greater impact particularly in the rural areas whose most households are female-headed.

Symptoms of poverty in the South African context In SA, poverty manifests itself in a number of ways. The first of these are the low income levels that poor people have. Other symptoms include the poor housing facilities, high infant mortality rates, high unemployment rates and poor health facilities etc.

Low income levels Leibbrandt et al. (2010) maintain that poverty levels in SA have remained very high despite increases in the real income levels of people within different races in the country. Blacks have also benefited from these increases even though the increases have not been enough to get them out of poverty. To understand how income is distributed amongst different households in each of South Africas Provinces, Statistics SA (2006) carried out a General Household Survey (GHS) in 2005. The results showed the existence of big provincial variations, with the more urbanized provinces having relatively low proportions of their populations living below the ultra poverty line. The poorest provinces were found to be those with large rural populations and little access to employment opportunities. Limpopo exhibits the most poverty-stricken profiles, followed by the Eastern Cape (Statistics SA, 2006). The Western Cape Province has the highest number of households with formally employed heads in spite of having nearly one in every five children (18%) living in very poor households in terms of earned income. In the year 2002 alone, Woolard (2002) claims that eight of the 42 million people in the country were surviving on less than one US dollar (US$1) per day. During the same period, another 18 million people survived on US$2 per day. This is consistent with the

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Table 1. Number of adult and child beneficiaries of social grants from 2004 July, 2006.

Grant type Old age pension War veterans grant Disability grant Grant in aid Child support grant Foster child grant Care dependency grant Total

Number of adult recipients 2 162,990 2,624 1 356,937 28,441 ------3 550,992

Number of child recipients --------7 410,760 351,702 92,853 7 855,315

Department of Social Development (2006).

World Banks (2002) estimates of the extent of poverty in LDCs. Even though millions of people in SA are still poor twelve years into the new millennium, the governments social security system should be applauded for its huge contribution towards ameliorating poverty. This system offers grants to those that are too old, too young, too disabled or busy caring for disabled dependants to work for an income. The grants are in the form of cash transfers to a substantial percentage of the population and they are meant to help the beneficiaries with poverty alleviation. As such, the grants have become a major non-employment source of income and livelihood for most poor South Africans. According to the Department of Social Development (2006), South Africas social security system benefits at least 25% of the entire countrys population each month (Table 1). It is therefore not surprising that the budget for the social security system provided for grant allocations of R57,7 billion in 2006/2007, R62,6 billion in 2007/2008 and R68,3 billion in 2008/2009 (Department of Social Development, 2006). Reports on the Intergovernmental Fiscal Review by the National Treasury (2005) further highlight that 88.5% of social development spending went to social assistance grants in 2004/2005. By the end of July 2006, the social grant beneficiaries were presented (Table 1). Table 1 show that children were the biggest beneficiaries of this grant system between 2004 and July 2006. However, other grant categories such as the old age pension, though not meant for children, are also used to assist the children by their recipients (Department of Social Development, 2006). Through these grants, the government is trying to get its people out of deeper poverty. Even though this has been achieved to a certain extent, it should be realized that these grants do not help all the poor. According to the Department of Social Development (2006), the reason behind this, is that only individuals with certain characteristics qualify. Thus, the system excludes those that are physically well but too poor and unable to get employment. Furthermore, the limited size of the governments coffers means that the amount given to each beneficiary, especially for the child support grant, is too small to contribute much towards a

better life. Nevertheless, the social grants have become the greatest source of income for the majority of rural households in SA. Their role has surpassed that of smallholder agriculture by far. This is according to the findings by Fraser et al. (2003), Monde et al. (2005) and Van Averbeke and Hebinck (2007). White and Killick (2001) blame this behaviour of turning away from agriculture and towards social grants for income on the poor natural resources and high transaction costs in remote areas where physical infrastructure and services are inadequate. Consequently, these factors lead to low agricultural production which in turn promotes poverty in these rural areas. The majority of rural dwellers therefore tend to rely on social grants for their income and cultivate small pieces of land just to produce enough only for domestic consumption.

Low levels of health A nations health levels can be used to assess its poverty status. Health indicators that can be used to assess poverty are (i) Infant mortality rate and (ii) life expectancy.

High infant mortality rates The prevailing low levels of health in most rural areas are another symptom of poverty. With the vast amount of resources in SA, one would expect the nations health system to be first class but the reality is a nightmare to most citizens. The scars of the poor health system, especially, the rural areas can be seen through analyzing the Infant Mortality Rates (IMR) and the Under-five Mortality Rate (U5MR). Nannan and Hall (2010) define IMR as the probability of babies dying within their first year of life while U5MR is an overall measure of child mortality that usually encompasses the probability of dying during infancy, between ages 1 to 4 years and th overall before the 5 birthday. These two measures of infant mortality are estimated per 1000 live births during

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Table 2. IMR and U5MR for all SA provinces between 1988 and 1997 (N/1000).

Province Eastern Cape Free State Gauteng Kwa-Zulu Natal Limpopo Mpumalanga North West Northern Cape Western Cape National average
Department of Health (1998).

Infant mortality rate 19881997 (N/1000) 61 53 36 52 37 47 42 42 30 45

Under-five mortality 19881997 (N/1000) 81 72 45 75 52 64 56 56 39 59

the same year. Nannan and Hall (2010) recognized that both IMR and U5MR are the most widely used indicators of health status and socio-economic development because they reflect not only the child mortality levels but also the health status of the broader population. For this reason, the Department of Health (1998) used these two approaches to review the health levels for each of the nine provinces of SA between 1988 and 1997 as shown in Table 2. The highest IMR (61) and U5MR (81) were observed in the Eastern Cape Province during the period studied. This was followed by the Free State with IMR and U5MR of 53 and 72 per every 1000 births respectively (Table 2). The lowest mortality rates in the country were in the Western Cape Province. While WHOs Health for All has a target of a maximum of 50 deaths per 1000 births, South Africas IMRs average stood at 45 deaths for every thousand children born whereas the death rate for kids below the age of five was 59. However, in spite of this result, this figure hides the variations between population groups according to socio-economic status or region (Bradshaw et al., 2003). In fact, as stated by Bradshow et al. (2003), this study does not give any details pertaining to the causes of mortality. Despite an estimated decrease in the SAs IMR to 22.45 deaths/1000 population, the rate still remains very high especially, when compared with other developed countries like Japan whose IMR is 2.79 deaths/1000 live births. Although, HIV/AIDS is blamed for the death of at least 40% of children under the age of five in SA, the role of poverty should be acknowledged too. Murray and Lopez (1996) rated the top twenty specific causes of death in South African children under the age of five years in 2000. Poverty-related causes included in this list were low birth weight (11.2%), diarrheal diseases (10.2%), protein-energy malnutrition (4.3%) and neonatal infections (2.8%). Using these findings by Murray and Lopez (1996), Bradshow et al. (2003) concludes that apart from the HIV/AIDS pandemic, most of the other

causes of death of infants are associated with poor socioeconomic conditions such as the lack of access to clean water and basic sanitation, a problem prevalent in the Eastern Cape.

Low life expectancy Life expectancy is an average estimate of the number of years citizens of a certain country are expected to live, taking all their socio-economic conditions into consideration. The number of years lived by people in different countries tends to differ. In 2009, the CIA World Fact book ranked South Africa as number 208 in the entire world in terms of the average life expectancy of its citizens that are expected to live an average of 48 years and 10 months. Women live longer than their male counterparts by 12 months. This was lower than the estimated global average of 66.57 years at birth (64.52 years for males and 68.76 years for females) for 2009 (CIA World Fact book, 2009). It was also very low especially when compared to the life expectancy of other developed nations like Japan, Canada, Singapore, France, Sweden, just to mention but a few, whose life expectancy remains at least at an average of 80 years. South Africa is not the only country with a life expectancy below 50 years. Findings from the CIA World Fact book (2009) show that other African countries that are worse than SA include Swaziland, Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Namibia, Zambia, Malawi, the Central African Republic, Mozambique and Guinea-Bissau. HIV/AIDS has been labeled as the greatest threat to high life expectancy levels in all these SSA countries. Of South Africa's nine provinces, those with the highest HIV prevalence rates also had the lowest life expectancy - Free State and Mpumalanga, both at 47 years followed by KwaZulu-Natal at 43 years. The leading causes of death were tuberculosis (TB), influenza and pneumonia, all common opportunistic infections

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associated with HIV/AIDS.

Poor standards of housing The housing crisis in South Africa has reached extreme levels with Statistics SA (2004) estimating that there were 1.376 million people living as squatters in 2004. One might say this is extreme but Hemson and ODonovon (2005) are convinced that the worst is yet to come. One might say this is extreme but Hemson and ODonovon (2005) argued that the worst is yet to come. These predictions by Hemson and ODonovon (2005) have proven not to be so unrealistic after all as the number of slum buildings increased between 2004 and 2008 from 1.376 to 2.4 million. The city of Cape Town is one of the most affected areas in terms of housing problems as indicated by its 144 informal settlements. The Cape Times Newspaper (2007) has evidence that the majority of the inhabitants of these informal settlements in the city are the young, unemployed and poor. Indications are that this situation keeps getting worse by the day, with the housing backlog expected to reach 460 000 by 2020 (Cape Times Newspaper, 2007). According to May et al. (1995) and WHO (1997), most of these informal settlements are not only over-populated but have neither hygienic sanitation nor safe drinking water. WHO (1997) further states that such dwellings are also deficient in electricity, ventilation, food preparation and storage. Inadequate access to these resources brings rise to a range of health risks including diarrheal and respiratory diseases. Woolard (2002) reveals that by year 1999, the population in SA without clean drinking water and adequate sanitation was 47 and 38% respectively.

High illiteracy rates The level of education amongst a nations citizens is one way of determining that particular countrys poverty status. In SA, Aitchison and Harley (2004) observed during the 2001 census that 18% of people aged between 20 years and older had no formal education at all. During the same period, 16% had only gone as far as primary education (grade one to six). In real terms, this translates to 4 567 497 and 4 083 752 people with no education at all and those with only primary education, respectively (Aitchison and Harley, 2004). This tells that at least a third of the nations population could be regarded as illiterate, with Limpopo and Western Cape being the provinces with the highest and lowest levels of adult illiteracy, respectively.

and therefore is seeking work. Factors such as lack of proper education and skills, low labour absorption rates by industries and change of seasons (seasonal unemployment) can be pointed as causes of high unemployment rates in most developing countries. However, this view goes against that of Harris and Todaro (1970) and Harris and Sabot (1982) who had earlier on argued that unemployment in most developing countries is voluntary. If this is the case, then its cure can be downgraded as a policy concern (Kingdon and Knight, 2001). To challenge Harris and Todaro (1970) and Harris and Sabots (1982) stance on voluntary unemployment, Clark and Oswald (1994) assessed the factors behind unemployment by analyzing the utility levels of the jobless. Their findings were that unemployed persons in various countries have much lower levels of happiness or wellbeing than those in work. Consequently, the conclusion drawn is that unemployment is involuntary. This suggests that the greatest levels of poverty are mostly amongst the unemployed in South Africa. Snower and De La Dehesa (1997) thus remain convinced that large-scale unemployment in South Africa is responsible for poverty and inequality as it erodes human capital and also creates social and economic tensions. For the period of 1998, Kingdon and Knight (2001) documented that South Africas unemployment rate was officially measured at 39%. By year 2009, the rate had dropped to 24.9% due to economic growth which later resulted in an increase in employment opportunities particularly in the formal sector. Major contributing industries were private households which comprised mainly of domestic workers (137 000 jobs) and the personal services (132 000 jobs). However, the recent global economic slump has made it difficult for industries to increase their labour absorption rate. As a result, there is still a great need for the unemployment problem to be addressed as a matter of urgency. Perhaps, this could be the entry point that the government, agricultural economists and other stakeholders can utilize to push for smallholder agricultural development to create employment and alleviate rural poverty. Furthermore, taking the agriculture route can also ease the pressure created in urban centres by the influx of rural migrants in search of formal employment as their source of livelihood.

ROLE OF AGRICULTURE IN ADDRESSING POVERTY AND FOOD INSECURITY South Africa is self-sufficient in food production (Machete, 2004; McLachlan and Kuzwayo, 1997). However, this self-sufficiency is only at national and not household level as shown by statistics from the National Treasury (2003) and confirmed by Terreblanche (2002). These two sources maintain that about 14 million people in the country are vulnerable to food insecurity whilst another 43% of households suffer from poverty. The impact of this problem is the major characteristic of people living in

High unemployment rates Barker (1999) defines an unemployed person as an ablebodied person who is without work, is available to work

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rural areas, particularly, in the former homelands. Baiphethi and Jacobs (2009) and FAO (2004) provid evidence that not only do the former homelands have the majority (65%) of South Africas poor but also 78% of those likely to be chronically poor dwell in such corners of the nation. With such high numbers of the poor staying in the rural areas, development economists have debated a lot on how to tackle this problem but without any consensus being reached. Eicher (1994) regards both middle and smallholder agriculture as a positive force in getting agriculture moving. The same sentiment is shared by the likes of Lopez (2002) and Machete (2004) who also advocate for the use of agriculture as the main tool with which to tackle rural poverty. Mwaniki (2005) also argues that the key lies in increasing the agricultural profitability of smallholder farmers and creating rural offfarm employment opportunities. The inclusion of off-farm employment in addressing poverty is based on the notion that food insecurity in Africa is directly correlated with poverty hence it is necessary to not only alleviate poverty but also create wealth for the target population (Mwaniki, 2005). However, not every development economist is happy with this approach of using agriculture as the main avenue out of poverty. Nonetheless, the importance of smallholder agriculture in developing countries has been acknowledged globally. Machete (2004) writes that in an attempt to find how best to use smallholder agriculture to drive rural development, two schools of thought have emerged. The first school of thought based its argument on the statistics published by the National Treasury (2003) that the majority of South African citizens, just like in many other developing countries, are poor and dwell in the rural areas. For this reason, this school of thought is of the opinion that since most of these rural poor are already involved in agricultural production or agriculture-related activities, investing in agriculture is the most effective way to reduce poverty. Thus, primary focus and investment should be directed towards developing the smallholder agricultural sector than anything else. To lobby for the support of this approach to rural development, advocates of this school used Kenyas example, as cited in Lele and Agarwal (1989) where smallholder farmers with farms of less than two hectares increased their share of national agricultural production from four percent (4%) in 1965 to 49% in 1985 after getting proper government support. In Zimbabwe, smallholder farmers tripled their maize production between 1980 and 1987 due to the launch of a government programme to boost maize and cotton production and development of hybrid maize varieties. According to Eicher (1994), these farmers in Zimbabwe also managed to increase their share of the national marketable maize surplus from ten percent (10%) in 1980 to 40% in 1987, an improvement that made them to be referred to as Africas green revolution success story. Whilst assistance is vital to developing the sector, aid should be geared towards the sustainability of the

agricultural systems. In order to achieve this, farmers should be trained on commercialization of their farm produce in order to maximize profits. In this way, the agricultural sector will become attractive to the unemployed. Once smallholder farmers become commercial, they tend to become more labour-productive there by creating enhanced chances of getting better financial returns for their efforts. However, even though Fan and Connie (2005) support this notion, they believed that in order to increase labour productivity, and therefore farmers income, there should be either an increase in the land productivity or an improvement in the land to labour ratio. Dyer (1997) and Havnevik and Skarstein (1997) further uphold the view that this inverse relationship between farm size and labour productivity is only in the short term as further increases in farm size in the long run against a small labour force renders smallholders less efficient. As a result, for smallholders to become commercial and efficient in their operations, there should be a balance between the land resources available vis-vis the quantity of labour available to work on that particular land. Failure to strike this balance will result in the over- or under-employment of resources which in turn shows inefficiency. Other indirect benefits of this initiative of commercializing smallholders include a reduction in ruralurban migration, while the rate of unemployment reduces drastically. Apart from the employment advantages expected to emanate from improving the sector, Delgado (1998) holds the view that smallholder agriculture is simply too important to human welfare and political stability in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). For this reason, it should neither be ignored nor treated as just another small adjusting sector of a market economy. The second school of thought on rural development focuses on the provision of social services and other nonagricultural activities (Mwaniki, 2005; Orr and Orr, 2002; Ellis, 1998, 1999). The school believes that it is important for the rural folks to have gardens and farms especially, for purposes of household food production but non-farm enterprises should also be established to help in income generation (Machete, 2004; Mwaniki, 2005). Some of the non-farm income sources include old-age pensions, remittances, wages and family businesses. Other nonfarm enterprises identified by Mahajan and Gupta (2011) include trading, agro-processing, manufacturing, crafting and construction. According to DFID (2002), some of these rural non-farm sectors are crucial in economic growth, rural development and poverty alleviation in that they act as growth engines in their own right by supplying urban, rather than rural, demand. In other words, instead of competing with urban enterprises, they actually complement them and thrive on increased urban connectivity. The DFID (2002) further accepts that having such secondary sectors in the rural communities could also provide cheap and effective goods and services thereby adding value to farm commodities. A good

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example of value addition comes in the form of agroprocessing which gives more value to agricultural output whose prices have always been regarded as very low when compared to those of products from other sectors such as the manufacturing sector (FAO, 2004). In other words, the second school recognizes and acknowledges the importance of smallholder agriculture in fighting poverty but goes further to advocate for the supporting of other sectors that could run parallel and complement the agricultural sector. According to Haggblade et al. (1989), the growth of the small farms also stimulates the growth of business activities created through forward and backward linkages which in turn generates economic growth through production and consumption linkages. Van Zyl et al. (1996) share the same view as Haggblade et al. (1989) that the demand for production inputs from other sectors could be stimulated if there are gains in output resulting from investments in any given sector of the economy. If this happens, then it creates what is known as backward linkages. Backward linkages also exist if the farming households use the income they obtain from selling their produce to purchase more farming inputs (investment) or even spend it on other items that have nothing to do with agriculture at all (expenditure), such as television sets, private cars and furniture etc (Estudillo and Otsuka, 1999). By doing so, they support the manufacturing sector through their agricultural income. Dorosh and Haggblade (1993) highlight that the initial output gains also raise incomes and consequently, spur consumer demand for other goods and services (forward linkages). This means that there are some non-farm sectors that rely on agricultural produce for their survival (Estudillo and Otsuka, 1999). Thus, the agricultural sector, smallholder sector included, provides other sectors with raw materials and a market. The two schools of thought seem to be both centered on agriculture. The first school is clear on its support for using the smallholder sector as the vehicle with which to drive rural South Africans out of poverty. As for the second school, one could actually conclude that even though it advocates for alternative income sources that are non-agricultural, it is also partly dependent on the success of the smallholder agricultural sector for the backward and forward linkages. Therefore, regardless of which school of thought one opts to support, the fact remains that agriculture will always have a critical role to play in poverty alleviation and rural development be it directly or indirectly. As part of interrogating the different ways through which agriculture could be used to ameliorate rural poverty, one topic that has been greatly debated amongst development and agricultural economists is the inverse relationship between farm size and efficiency. The big question this debate has been trying to answer is whether smaller farms are more efficient than commercial ones. If they are, then, perhaps agricultural investment should

focus towards smallholders at the expense of their largescale counterparts because of the formers efficient use of limited resources. General findings from the likes of Byerlee and De Janvry (2009) and Ngqangweni et al. (2001) suggest that smallholders can produce efficiently even when they are subjected to opportunity cost scenarios similar to their better-resourced commercial counterparts. This is usually the case with smallholder farmers that have turned commercial in their operation by producing for marketing purposes and not entirely home consumption. The Guardian (2012) attributes such efficiency to the fact that the opportunity costs for their land and labour are relatively low thereby making smallholders competitive food producers. In addition to producing enough food, smallholders also represent an emerging market opportunity for local and international agribusiness alike. All this suggests that smallholder agriculture could be as much of a solution to household food security as it is to providing efficient use of scarce resources. In a country like SA where land for large-scale farming is very scarce, small-scale farmers can play a vital role in providing food for the nation without demanding too much of this scarce resource. This is because they are very efficient in terms of production per hectare due to their small farm sizes (Carter, 1994; Berry and Cline, 1979; Bharadwaj, 1974). Vietnam is a good example where smallholder agriculture has enhanced the food security situation since 1979. According to Pinda (2008), the country of Vietnam was a very food-deficit country and relied heavily on imports. However, through the development of its smallholder sector, the nation has since become a major food exporter and it is now the second largest rice exporter in the world. Furthermore, by 2007 the poverty rate had dropped to below 15%, compared to 58% in 1979 (Pinda, 2008). However, the SA case is different. Baiphethi and Jacobs (2009) estimate that in South Africa, at least four million people engage in smallholder agriculture. Over the past few years, the main reason for farming has emerged as the need to supplement food rather than use farming as the main source of food in rural areas (Baiphethi and Jacobs, 2009). This conclusion is consistent with the situation in the Eastern Cape Province where Monde (2003) reports agricultures contribution towards household income to be very unpretentious. According to Aliber (2005), on the average, smallholder agriculture contributes 15% of the total household income in SA, but for the poorest quintile the contribution is estimated at 35%. All together, the high number of people trapped in the poverty circle in the rural areas of Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) has created an urgent need to find ways to improve smallholder agriculture in order to improve food security at household level. As a solution, Peacock (2004) recommends more investment in the smallholder agricultural sector. However, he also recognizes that

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whilst paying much attention to liberalizing markets and creating macro-economic stability in order to stimulate demand for and prices of agricultural products has dominated the past few years, such policies are necessary but not sufficient. As such, Peacock (2004) further proposes the introduction of farmer-led initiatives as another solution. With these initiatives having been introduced, African governments need to increase their financial contributions to help the resource-poor farmers cultivate their land. In the opinion of Peacock (2004), governments also need to cooperate with NGOs to encourage farmer-led initiatives, work with African other governments to make the case for investment in smallholder agriculture and to lobby for farmers to be involved in the policy-making process. However, if this is to work, there should be a clear policy framework laid down to guide the stakeholders on the proper ways to assist the smallholder sector. This policy framework should be specific to the agriculture sector and allow for a harmonious working relationship between the farmers and both the public and private sectors. Andriessi et al. (2007) uphold the view that any form of intervention in the sector should focus on at least one or more of the following; (1) increasing agricultural productivity, (2) enhancing access to resources and services, (3) getting competitive markets and (4) creating support institutions for smallholder farmers, particularly those based in the rural areas. In achieving increased yields, effort must be made to ensure that such improvements are sustainable and not at the expense of other natural resources. Therefore, Andriessi et al. (2007) are in favour of intensive research and development (R and D) programmes with the results being used as a starting point to inform the intended intervention policies. In consequence, as much as interventions are needed, they should be based on R and D findings and not the personal ambitions or desires of the interveners. In carrying out these R and D programmes, Andriessi et al. (2007) have suggested that priority should be given to integrated soil management practices, rain-water harvesting, high quality seeds, post-harvest management, mechanization, processing and value-chain management. Since all these requires level of expertise rarely possessed by the rural smallholder farmers, capacity building is very important to make sure that they are introduced to the farmers in a way that will be understandable (Andriessi et al., 2007).

SYNOPSIS The paper has highlighted a number of critical issues pertaining to poverty and food security in SA and other developing countries. It reviewed the different definitions of the term food security as proposed by different individuals or organizations. A critical discussion of the food security and poverty levels in SA was made,

including the symptoms of the latter. However, the most sensible conclusion that one can draw based on the discussion made above is that poverty (or food insecurity) is a phenomenon that is going to be around for years to come, especially, with the ever-increasing global population coupled with land degradation, deforestation and global warming. Whilst efforts are being made by various governments or organizations to respond to the UNs MDG of halving poverty by year 2014, it is going to take a lot more than what is currently being done. At the same time, it is widely agreed that if proper interventions are put in place, smallholder farmers can contribute to a vibrant rural sector, where locally-produced products and services meet growing local demand. This, in turn, can spur sustainable off-farm employment growth in services, agro-processing and small-scale manufacturing. Nonetheless, there is still a long way to go if food insecurity is to be tackled using smallholder agricultural approach. The type of intervention needed in the smallholder sector is not easy to isolate due to the existence of various factors that affect the sector such as the skills levels, illiteracy and financial institutions etc. As such, formulating the best piece of intervention that will allow the smallholder sector to deliver what large businesses require, and in turn to encourage businesses to adapt their models to be inclusive and supportive of small-scale agricultural producers will take a while and also a number of different attempts. With poverty having so many faces, enabling the rural population to produce their own food is a good strategy but on its own, it is not enough to completely eradicate this problem. As such, the SA government has already embarked on a number of other poverty alleviation strategies such as cash transfers, provision of health care, education, housing, and basic services (water, electricity, sanitation). Regarding agriculture, it has also tried to stimulate the performance of the sector by introducing a few programmes like the Massive Food Programme in the Eastern Cape, the revitalization of irrigation schemes, supporting of farmer cooperatives, Farmer Support Programmes (FSPs), etc. In conclusion, one might ask how then can improving the agricultural sector help ameliorate the different faces of poverty and also meet the different MDGs set by the UN. The answer is in the revitalization of the smallholder agricultural sector to improve the lives of the rural poor thereby relieving some pressure from the government when it comes to issues such as the extent of social grants, high unemployment and poverty levels and malnutrition problems etc. The fact that most of the food insecurity and poverty problems are experienced mostly in the rural areas of SA where the majority of the countrys population is found means that agriculture, especially smallholder agriculture can be the correct remedy for these problems. This is because the sector promotes food security and enhances rural livelihoods at household level first where improvements are needed.

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Once the household needs have been met, then the agricultural sectors effects can trickle down to the rest of the country. One could therefore could by saying that the arguments raised by the two schools of thought regarding dealing with poverty are very valid. Policy developers, developments economists, the government and all other role-players should find roles that suit their resources and abilities within the two schools. This is to say that as others concentrate on boosting the productivity of the smallholder farmers, others could perhaps focus on how to stimulate the forward and backward linkages so that there is synergy between the sector and other critical sectors. Focus will be on agriculture together with all the complementing sectors to achieve fast and overall success.
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Peacock, C (2004). Smallholder agriculture: Africas pathway out of poverty. Online: http://uk.oneworld.net/article/view/83870/1/3485. Accessed: 29/06/12. Pinda MP (2008). Keynote address by Honourable Mizengo P. Pinda (MP), Prime Minister of the United Republic of Tanzania, at the Eleventh Sokoine Memorial Lecture, Sokoine University of Agriculture. Online: http://www.suanet.ac.tz/alumni/pdf/pinda.pdf. Accessed: 15/05/11. Shinns LH, Lyne MC (2004). Possible Causes of Poverty within a Group of Land Reform Beneficiaries in the Midlands of KwaZulu-Natal: Analysis and Policy Recommendations. Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics, University of Wisconsin-Madison. Snower DJ, De La Dehesa G (1997). Unemployment policy: Government options for the labour market. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. Statistics SA (2004). Statistics in Brief. Statistics South Africa, Pretoria. Statistics SA (2006). General Household Survey 2005. Pretoria, Cape Town: Statistics South Africa. Analysis by Debbie Budlender, Centre for Actuarial Research, UCT. Studies in Poverty and Inequality Institute (SPII) (1997). The Measurement of Poverty in South Africa Project: Key issues. Richmond, Johannesburg. Terreblanche S (2002). A History of Inequality in SA. University of Natal Press & K M M Publishing, Pietermaritzburg. Townsend P (1979). Poverty in the United Kingdom: A Survey of Household Resources and Standards of Living, Penguin: London. United Nations (1975). Report of the World Food Conference, Rome 516 November 1974. New York. United Nations (2009). Rethinking Poverty: Report on the World Social Situation. United Nations, New York. Van Averbeke W, Hebinck P (2007). Contemporary livelihoods. In Hebinck and Lent (Eds.) livelihoods and landscapes: the people of Guquka and Koloni and their resources. Brill publishers, Netherlands. Van Zyl J, Kirsten J, Binswanger HP (1996). Agricultural land reform in South Africa. Oxford University Press, Cape Town. Voster WS (1991). Building a new nation. UNISA, Pretoria. White H, Killick T (2001). African poverty at the millennium, causes, complexities and challenges. Strategic Partnership with Africa. World Bank, Washington D.C. USA. Woolard I (2002). An overview of poverty and inequality in South Africa. Working Paper prepared for DFID (SA), RSA. World Health Organisation (1997). Improving Environmental Health Conditions in Low-income Settlements A Community Based Approach to Identifying Needs and Priorities, World Health Organization and United Nations Environment Programme. Geneva. World Bank (2001). Poverty trends and voices of the poor. The World Bank, Washington DC. World Bank (2002). Children and Poverty. Online: http://www.worldbank.org/html/extdr/pb/pbchildren.htm. Accessed: 29/06/12.

African Journal of Agricultural Research Vol. 7(28), pp. 4021-4028, 24 July, 2012 Available online at http://www.academicjournals.org/AJAR DOI: 10.5897/AJAR12.1098 ISSN 1991-637X 2012 Academic Journals

Full Length Research Paper

Consumers awareness of food labeling: A case study of United Arab Emirates

Aydin Basarir* and Sherin Sherif
Department of Agribusiness, Faculty of Food and Agriculture, United Arab Emirates University, P. O. Box 17555, Al-Ain, United Arab Emirates.
Accepted 3 July, 2012

The main objective of this study is to examine consumers awareness for food labeling in United Arab Emirates (UAE), along with identification of the socioeconomic characteristics and attitudes which make consumers aware of the subject. The UAE is an economy with a peculiar nature; more than 80% of its residents are expatriates from all over the world. A total of 500 respondents from all over the UAE were randomly selected and surveyed through face-to-face interviews. The deterministic statistics and frequency tables of data were prepared and analyzed. An ordered probit model was utilized to see the effect of social characteristics and attributes on the consumers awareness for food labeling. According to the results, 89.6% of respondents indicated that they read information provided on food labels. Among the attributes written on the labels, the three most important that were read by respondents more frequently were expiration date, list of ingredients, and the country of origin. The results of ordered probit model shows that the probability of reading food labels more frequently increases with older, more educated, and those who have more children under age of 18. Key words: Consumers awareness, food labeling, ordered probit model, imported food, healthy diet.

INTRODUCTION Food labeling is a major instrument enabling consumers to have information about the kind of food they purchase and make nutritionally appropriate choices. Having a supportive marketing environment that provides content of food items can be considered as a principle in promoting the health of consumers. Providing food content information on packets can be thought of as an important element for consumer protection. Consumers have as much right to know the nutrient content of the foods they choose to purchase as they do to know its country of origin and that it is safe to eat (Cowburn and Stockley, 2005). Labeling includes any written, printed or graphic matter that is present on the label, accompanies the food, or is displayed near the food, including that for the purpose of promoting its sale or disposal (Joint, 2007). To assist international trade and global consumers, international guidelines, in the form of the Codex General Standard for the labeling of pre-packaged foods is developed and revised as needed. The most recent guidance has been revised in 2007and requires all member countries (over 170) to follow. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is a member of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC); besides UAE, there are five other countries that include Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia. The Gulf Standards Organization (GSO) is responsible for developing food and other standards in the GCC. This organization is continuously updating food standards in all member countries. The existing standards have been harmonized in the past few years within the guidelines of the Codex Alimentarius, International Organization for Standardization (ISO), and other international organizations. The GSO member countries have been revising the shelf life and labeling of food items which were updated in 2007 from the earlier standards issued in the nineties. As the food safety issue has become an important topic all around the world, it is a major concern in the GCC region as well. The issue is

*Corresponding author. E-mail: abasarir@uaeu.ac.ae. Tel: +971 3 713 3382. Fax: +971 3 713 3181.

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more critical since many food products are imported from all around the world. As a result of food threats that have occurred in the region within the past decade, the concern about the ability of GCC governments to guarantee the safety and quality of food imports became an important topic (Al-Kandari and Jukes, 2009). The researchers are not aware of other research studies done in GCC region or other neighboring countries related to the issue in question. Many countries in the world are developing mandatory or voluntary programs to assure food safety by using traceability in food value chain Traceability is defined as the ability to follow the movement of a food through specified stage(s) of processing, production, and distribution (Souza-Monteiro and Caswell, 2004). In order to facilitate communication regarding existing direct or indirect risk to consumers health from food or food contact material, a rapid alert system for food (GRASF) has been developed in Saudi Arabia for all GCC countries. In addition to GRASF, food and non-food standards in the GCC and Yemen is developed by GSO. The Emirates Authority for Standardization and Metrology (ESMA) is working with GSO to either develop or adopt the standard necessary in food production processing and handling. The establishment and enforcement of food safety regulation is under the responsibility of UAE Ministry of Environment and Water (MOEW). The MOEW is working with the National Food Safety Committee (NFSC) and Veterinary Committee (VC) to deal with food, meat, and poultry related matters (Taha, 2012). The majority of GCC countries have low foodsufficiency rates for the main food commodities. As a result of arid climate and shortage of arable land, the UAE relies on importing most of the basic food items. According to the UAE National Bureau Statistics (2012), the contribution of agriculture, livestock, and fishing to the GDP of the country is less than 1% (0.8%) and only 1% of land is available for agricultural production. Even where land is available for agriculture, the country faces severe irrigation water shortages. As a result of that, achieving food security depends mostly on food imports which have been steadily rising in recent years. The steady increase in food imports is mainly because of high income and population growth rate. UAE is importing food items mainly from Germany, United Kingdom, Italy, China, India (mainly rice), United States, Egypt (mainly rice and fruits), Brazil (mainly beef and poultry), and New Zealand (mainly beef and lamb). The countries have mandatory food labeling regulations. The imported food products are regularly inspected at the time of entry to UAE, at production stage, and at the retailing places. Both imported and locally produced food items are required to have the same food safety regulations and labeling requirements (Taha, 2012). In UAE, the self-sufficiency ratio for cereal is none, compared to fruits (68.75%) and vegetables (54.23%). According to the Food and Agriculture Organization

(FAO), there is some food production in the UAE, but most of the food is imported. The total value of agricultural imports of UAE was $4.825 billion (AED17.746 billion). The largest consumption of food groups is vegetables, cereals and fruits (562, 390, and 372 g/person/day, respectively) (FAO, 2011). A reliable and uniform food production in the exporting countries will ensure quality and safety of food in UAE and avoid any food security concerns. The major food imports of UAE are milled paddy rice, sugar, food prepared, oil of palm, pistachios, wheat, tea, chicken meat, dry-whole cow milk, and chocolate products. UAE is the second largest rice importer in the world ($327.80 million = AED 1205.65 million) after Saudi Arabia; and the fifth largest refined- sugar importer of the world ($222.20 million = AED 816.59 million). Wheat is a major UAE imported commodity due to its multiple uses and ranks ninth in total UAE food imports (FAO, 2011). In the UAE, such as the case in most developing economies, increasing consumer awareness of nutritional issues constitutes an urging need on behalf of the Emirati Government to avail accurate and standardized nutrition labeling. It is obvious that nutrition sells today to consumers, from marketing standpoint, making nutrition an integral part of product development and promotion. Consumer feedback is a powerful mechanism for manufacturers in developing new food products that provide the health and nutrition characteristics sought by the public. Food marketers, in general, oppose any labeling proposals that may threaten their control of food packages. Food labels are thought to be the source of information that Emirati people rely on when assessing any information regarding the safety or quality of the food they eat. GSO is still working on the issue of putting standards for packed food labels to make sure that customers get all detailed information about the goods they buy. Accordingly, the main objective of this study is to examine the consumers awareness for food labeling in the UAE and to identify the socioeconomic characteristics and attitudes which make the respondent aware of the subject. The study utilized a cross-section survey to achieve its objective. The study should be considered a good source of information for both food-policy makers and marketers to value the kind of information that the UAE consumer seeks. Global studies on the use of food labels reveal that consumers want comprehensive nutrition information on food labels (Caswell and Mojduszka, 1996; Cowburn and Stockley, 2005; Drichoutis et al., 2009; Kiesel and Villas-Boas, 2007; Loureiro et al., 2006; Wills et al., 2009). As consumers awareness for dietary preferences increases, consumers want more information to be provided on the labels. As indicated by Caswell and Padberg (1992), food labels play important roles in the food marketing via their impact on product design, advertising, consumer confidence in food quality, and consumer education on diet and health. As a result of

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previous research on the relationship between diet and health, consumers interest in the nutritional content of specific foods has increased. That is why the future of food information services is important. With the growing attention to Escherichia coli outbreaks and mad cow disease, consumers are increasingly questioning the food they eat. In response, many in the food industry are beginning to provide both transparent and convenient information regarding food's history. Many small scale farms recognized this needed service and have created blogs that explained general farming principles, provided photos of the land, animals, and equipment, and portrayed the daily lives of farmers and their families (Kline, 2007). The literature on food labeling can be thought of in two categories. In the first category, researchers searched the consumers awareness and preferences for food labeling. As for the second category, the respondents willingness-to-pay (WTP) for labeled food is analyzed. As indicated before, because of some possible diseases resulting from it, a significant number of researches were conducted on the labeling of meat. Consumer preferences for labeling of fresh or frozen meat in retail stores were analyzed by different researchers (Lusk and Fox, 2002; Piedra et al., 1995; Schupp et al., 1998). Lusk and Fox (2002) estimated the value of policies that would mandate labeling of beef from cattle produced with growth hormones or fed genetically-modified corn. At no cost, 85% of respondents desired mandatory labeling of beef produced with growth hormones and 64% of respondents preferred mandatory labeling of beef fed genetically-modified corn. Piedra et al. (1995) found out that the rural respondents of Louisiana, USA, placed more emphasis on nutritional labeling than did urban respondents. While there was a voluntary nutrition labeling of packaged domestic fresh meats in retail stores, there was mandatory country-of-origin labeling law of fresh meat at both the state and national levels in the USA. Availability and use of these labels in Louisiana retail stores were examined by Schupp et al. (1998). One-half of the responding households perceived that these nutrition labels were in use in stores, and when available, they were used by most respondents. In another study, Schupp and Gillespie (2001) surveyed beef handling firms in Louisiana, USA, by phone. The sample included processors, retailers and restaurants. The researchers tried to identify whether the handlers were supporting the mandatory country-of-origin labeling or not. There was a considerable interest in country-of-origin labeling of fresh or frozen beef amongst the handlers. Ibrahim et al. (2010) also examined the factors that influence university students willing to purchase transgenic meat. Results showed that respondents who said they read labels when shopping were more likely to purchase transgenic meat. Results suggested that respondents who trust scientists to tell them the truth about transgenic meat were more

likely to purchase transgenic meat. Respondents who identified themselves as sophomores, however, were less likely to consume transgenic meat. Some other studies have been conducted to analyze consumers awareness and preferences for imported aquaculture products (Joseph et al., 2009; Wozniak, 2010). Wozniak (2010) questioned the issue of country of origin labeling (COOL) and salmon consumption. Using a nonlinear Almost Ideal Demand System (AIDS) model, the demand for 3 salmon products was estimated: precooked, uncooked fresh, and uncooked frozen. COOL had no significant impact on consumer demand for the three products. Joseph et al. (2009) developed a conceptual model of heterogeneous consumers that examines the consequences of partial Mandatory Country of Origin Labeling (MCOOL) implementation on welfare and diversion. Numerical simulation results showed that diversion is possible in the partial MCOOL scenario and the higher the perceived quality of domestic fish the greater the diversion of low-quality imports to the nonlabeled market. Real consumer surplus was greatest under total MCOOL implementation when quality differences between domestic and foreign fish are perceived to be great. As for WTP studies, the researchers tried to find consumers awareness of the labeling and if consumers want to pay extra over the original price. Prathiraja and Ariyawardana (2003) conducted a study with a view of identifying the market for nutritional labeling and the factors that influence the consumers willingness-to-pay for nutritional labeling in Sri Lanka. A significantly greater proportion of individuals in the age category of 36 to 50 years, individuals with tertiary education, individuals with special dietary status, and households with less than four members were willing to pay more for the nutritional labels. Tonsor and Shupp (2009) evaluated consumers perceptions of what sustainably produced food labels imply and estimated the corresponding demand for products carrying these labels. Results suggested that the typical U.S. consumer is not willing to pay a positive premium for beef, toma-toes, or apple products labeled as sustainably produced. Demand is particularly sensitive to inferences consumers make regarding what a sustainably produced food label implies. Jones et al. (2010) also examined consumer WTP for clone-free meat labels. Data were collected at the Sunbelt Agricultural Exposition (Ag Expo) in Moultrie, Georgia, using a consumer self-administered survey instrument. Survey results showed that the majority (59.45%) of the respondents said they were willing to pay for clone-free labels. Bid amount, gender, and education were the factors that influenced WTP for clone-free labels. In addition, Nurse et al. (2010) examined the potential psychological predictors of stated WTP for different sustainable food attributes. Specifically, consumers attitudes and level of perceived consumers effectiveness (PCE) were measured to identify and define potential

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factors that aid in predicting consumers WTP for products labeled locally grown, organically grown, or fair trade. The research concluded that there was a significant relationship between PCE and the marginal attribute values of local, organic, and fair trade produces. In sum, the reviewed articles stressed on the importance of consumer awareness and the demand for food labeling from both marketing and policy perspectives and in both the developed and the developing world. Several research models have been suggested and implemented with some apparent preference to the logit model. Unfortunately, the above issue was not handled in the UAE from either marketing or policy perspectives. This fact in itself justifies the importance of the study in hand, since it could give insight and lead related future research. The results of the study could also aid foodpolicy makers in the country to make more accurate decisions regarding food-importation policies. It could also identify to marketers what consumers perceive as the most important when to it comes to food labeling.
MATERIALS AND METHODS The United Arab Emirates is a constitutional federation of seven emirates; Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, Umm al-Qaiwain, Ras al-Khaimah and Fujairah. According to 2011 estimated statistics, the UAE per capita income and population were $39,623 and 8.26 million, respectively. The UAE nationals accounted for 11.48% or about 948,000 of the population. The majority of population (88.52%) is expatriates from all over the world. The majority of the UAE nationals as well as expatriates reside in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah (Mundi, 2012). That is why the three emirates were taken as representative of both nationals and expatriates sample selection of this study. As for sample, the purpose of the paper was to investigate consumers awareness about food labeling in the UAE. Despite the fact that 88.52% of UAEs population is foreigners; the sample was a little biased towards nationals since most of the affluent foreigners in the UAE come from the Western world. Those Westerns are known to be significantly aware of the importance of food labeling, as indicated in available studies on the issue. The researchers are not aware of any studies on food labeling in the UAE from the nationals perspective. That is why the sample was biased to include nationals as the major domain of consumers in the sample. The respondents were randomly selected and interviewed. A total of 500 questionnaires were conducted via face to face interviews. The number of questionnaires allotted for each Emirate was determined according to its population. The survey included attitudinal questions and elicited economic and demographic information of the respondents. The survey further included questions to identify consumers awareness and demand for labeling of food items in UAE. The data collectors were trained first, pilot tests were conducted, and then the survey was applied. In this research, respondents were asked to respond to the statement A variety of information is provided on food labels. How often do you read food labels? The response categories were never, rarely, sometimes, and often. In this study, it was aimed to analyze the factors affecting the respondents attitudes of reading the labels. That is why even if the respondents claimed that they do not read the labels, they would still be within the focus of interest in the study, and consequently they were asked to complete the survey. It is assumed that the alternative answers ( ) is related to a continuous, latent variable that indicated a respondents

frequency of reading food labels. The responses for each statement were taken as the dependent variable in the ordered probit model. Following Long (1997), the ordered probit model (OPM) can be explained as follows: Before deriving the OPM, a measurement model should be calculated. The measurement model includes a latent variable which can be called to + . The variable ranges from . According to the

and mapped over an observed value

measurement equation, the variable incomplete information about if . for

is believed to provide

(1)

Where the s are called the thresholds or cut-points. The observed is related to according to the measurement model. The simple

explanation of analysis is as follows:

(2)

As done with binary regression models, maximum likelihood estimation can be used to regress on x. In OPM, the error term

( ) is distributed normally with mean 0 and variance 1. The pdf for ordered probit model is: (3) And the cdf is: (4)

The probability of any observed outcome

given x can be or is

calculated by using equation 5. In this equation, constrained to 0 to identify the model.

(5) The probability of observing whatever value of observed for the ith observation is: was actually

(6)

If the observations are independent, the likelihood equation is:

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Table 1. The frequency of reading food labels.

A variety of information is provided on food labels. How often do you read food labels? Never Rarely Sometimes Often

Frequency 52 119 221 108

Percentage 10.4 23.8 44.2 21.6

Table 2. The kind of information that the respondent are looking for on food labels.

Attributes The list of ingredients The short phrases on the label like low-fat or light The nutrition panel include the amount of calories, protein, etc. The chemical and pesticide information The biotechnology information The expiration dates The country of origin (made in.) The food storage and handling instruction The organic seal/certification

Always 40.0 33.4 31.8 26.2 23.8 49.4 35.6 24.2 24.0

Sometimes 34.2 40.2 31.4 35.6 32.8 27.4 35.2 33.6 31.6

Rarely 17.8 19.8 27.4 24.2 27.2 16.2 21.8 25.6 22.0

Never 8.0 6.6 9.4 14.0 16.2 7.0 7.4 16.6 22.4

(7) Combining Equations 5, 6 and 7, (8)

indicates multiplying over all cases where equal . Taking logs, the log likelihood is:

is observed to

(9) Equation 9 can be maximized to estimate the s and s.

Using these equations, the descriptive statistics of variables used in analysis in this study were provided. Using ordered probit model, the effects of independent variables on the frequency of reading food label were analyzed. The marginal effects of each independent variable were also given. And according to the results of the study, some suggestions were lined up.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION As indicated in Table 1, of the 500 respondents only 10.4% never read food labels. Most of the respondents are reading the labels; that is why the producers/ processors should prepare the labels as clear as possible. As shown in Table 2, the respondents are mostly looking to the expiration date of the products on the labels. This is a basic indicator of peoples awareness of negative circumstances which might occur as a result

of consuming outdated products. Supplying fresh products will enhance the success of any food producer. The second important information that the respondents look for is the list of ingredients contained in the food. Since the peoples concern of dietary and food in tank is increasing, this was an expected result. In contrast, the less concern seems to be the food storage and handling instruction and the biotechnology information. Generally, customers are loyal to certain brands and retail stores and they are aware of and trust the way products have been stored and handled. That may explain why they do not concern themselves that much with this issue. As for the biotechnology information, it is hard to understand most of it. Sometimes only experts of the subject can understand the information. Probably the customers loyalty and trust of the producers decrease their concern about the issue. The respondents food labeling choices are shown in Table 3. Of the 500 respondents, 21.8% do not know or refused food labeling. Only 7.4% of the respondents indicated that there was no need for food labeling in UAE. The majority were willing to see labels on the food they have been consuming.

The empirical model As previously indicated in the methodology section, ordered probit model was implemented. The independent and explanatory variables used in the models are shown in Table 4. Since the frequency of reading food labels

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Table 3. The respondents food labeling choices.

Which of the following best describes your attitude regarding the food labeling requirements of the UAE government? Do not know / refused No need for food labeling in the UAE Only biotechnology information should be noted All food products should be labeled

Frequency 109 37 74 279

Percentage 21.8 7.4 14.8 55.9

Table 4. Deterministic statistics of data used in ordered probit model analysis.

Variable LREAD: The frequency of reading food labels (0: never, 1: rarely, 2: sometimes and 3: often) GENDER: The gender of respondent (1: male and 0: female) AGE: The age of respondents ( 1: 17, 2: 18-24, 3: 25-35, 4: 36-45, 5: 46-55, 6: 56-64, and 7: 65 MSTATUS: Marital status of respondent (1: married, 0: otherwise) EDUCAT: Education level of respondent (0: no education, 1: less than high school, 2: high school graduate, 3: college graduate, and 4: post graduate) NATIONAL: The nationality of respondent (1: Emirati and 0: otherwise) HHSIZE: the household size of respondent (in numbers) CHILDR: The number of children aged 18 or younger lives at respondents home (in numbers) INCOME: The respondents monthly household net income in dirham (1: less than 2000, 2: 20003999, 3: 4000-5999, 4: 6000-7999, 5: 8000-9999, 6: 10000-11999, 7: 12000-13999, 8: 1400015999, 9: 16000-17999, 10: 18000-19999, 11: 20000-21999, 12: 22000-23999, 13: 24000-25999, 14: 26000-27999, and 15: 28000 and more)

Mean Std. Dev. 1.77 0.90 0.61 0.49 2.99 1.24 0.42 0.49 2.65 0.68 6.76 2.37 0.84 0.47 4.87 1.76

Min. 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

Max. 3.00 1.00 7.00 1.00 4.00

0.00 1.00 0.00 15.00 0.00 5.00

8.49

4.90

1.00 15.00

(LREAD) had a rank structure, the ordered probit model was the most appropriate model to use. The dependent variable of the model was LREAD and the ranked alternative answers were never, rarely, sometimes, and often. The result of the model is given in Table 5. According to the results, education level (EDUCAT) and the number of children aged 18 or younger living at respondents home (CHILDR) both have positive influence on LREAD, which was expected. On the other hand, the emirate (NATIONAL) and those who have larger household (HHSIZE) both do not have influence on LREAD. The main reason is that the emirate and those respondents who have larger household size generally have maid and workers who take care of all kinds of shopping. Meanwhile, there was no prior information about the difference between nationals and non-nationals living in the UAE regarding food shopping habits. It was an implicit goal of the paper to identify the difference between national and non-nationals in term of reading food labels. The results of regression analysis indicated that expatriates were reading food labels more frequently than the UAE nationals. Since older people are more careful about their diet, the influence of age (AGE) on LREAD was expected but it is not significant. Even

though it is not significant, females seem to be reading the food labels more than males, which are again expected as they go more often than males for food shopping. The probabilities and marginal effects of LREAD model are given in Table 6. According to the results, the predicted probability of reading food labels is 98.8%. Based on the marginal effects, female respondents are reading the food labels more frequently than the males. In addition, older people read labels more frequently, but married respondents read less. Educated respondents read labels more frequently but those who have higher income read less frequently. Emirati respondents and those who have larger household read labels less frequently, on the other hand, those who have more children under the age of 18 read labels more frequently.

Conclusion Results indicated that the majority of respondents read the information provided on food labels. In addition to that, more than half of them would like to see labeled food items on stores shelves. Among the attributes written on the labels, the three most important that were checked by respondents were expiration date, list of

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Table 5. Maximum likelihood estimates of ordered probit model (LREAD).

Variable Constant GENDER AGE MSTATUS EDUCAT NATIONAL HHSIZE CHILDR INCOME

Coefficient 1.366 -0.092 0.006 -0.026 0.126 -0.273 -0.033 0.067 -0.012

t-statistic (asymptotic) 5.543*** -.912 .119 -.235 2.127** -2.195** -2.676*** 2.045** -1.119

Log likelihood function:-621.297; Chi squared: 26.325. *: significant at 0.10 level; **: significant at 0.05 level; ***: significant at 0.01 level.

Table 6. Predicted probabilities and marginal effects from the estimated ordered probit model (LREAD).

Data Predicted probabilities Marginal effects *GENDER AGE *MSTATUS EDUCAT *NATIONAL HHSIZE CHILDR INCOME

Y=0 Never 0.002

Y=1 Rarely 0.004

Y=2 Sometimes 0.988

Y=3 Often 0.006

0.0157 -0.0010 0.0045 -0.0217 0.0444 0.0056 -0.0115 0.0021

0.0178 -0.0011 0.0050 -0.0242 0.0531 0.0063 -0.0128 0.0024

-0.0068 0.0004 -0.0020 0.0097 -0.0158 -0.0025 0.0052 -0.0010

-0.0267 0.0016 -0.0075 0.0362 -0.0817 -0.0094 0.0192 -0.0036

ingredients and the country of origin. The biotechnology information, food storage and handling instructions, and the organic certification were read rarely by the respondents. Furthermore, the older, more educated, and those who have more children under age of 18 read food labels more frequently. On the other hand, most of the respondents want the food items to be labeled mandatorily in UAE. The identification of how UAE consumers perceive food labeling, whether there are legislation and laws or not, should be of importance to the government and to the people in charge of the food labeling process. This is because labeling food, no matter how accurate it is, will have no significance or value to the consumers if they do not believe in its importance (for example, they buy food from the shelves regardless of whether food is labeled or not). In addition, there is a lot of money spent on legalizing food labels. Probably, it would be helpful to policy makers to devote money to educating the consumers about the importance of labeling food more than just caring for passing laws and legislation and to have them in effect. In other words, the national UAE

consumers are probably just looking for the basic information written on the food labels. And to most of them, food labels simply mean information about the country of origin, ingredients and expiration dates. That is why identifying UAE consumers awareness about the food labeling issue was of importance in this study to highlight what Emirati consumers perceive the most. One of the suggestions to policy makers would be to provide education and awareness programs for UAE nationals to read the entire information written on the label. This is because food labeling is not confined to the basic information UAE consumers look at. It is much more than that. It includes information on the existence of hazardous materials, genetically modified ingredients which their hazard is not yet known, having carcinogenic materials, and so on. Policy makers, on the other hand, can benefit from the study results by making laws and legislation regarding the establishment of food labeling in the country. Standardization of the way that labeling should be made has to be set by the government and then food producers/processors should be educated about its importance and implementation. This is

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important as the trend now is uprising regarding issues related to food safety, nutrition and quality. And for a country that imports more than 95% of its food needs, a revision of food importing policies should be made with more emphasis on labeling. The hazardous impacts of new technologies adopted in food production/processing are increasing, so is the awareness of consumers worldwide and in the UAE.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT The investigators would like to express their sincere appreciation to the Research Affairs at the United Arab Emirates University for the financial support of the project under fund grant # 01-03-6-11/08, which this paper has been prepared from.
REFERENCES Al-Kandari D, Jukes DJ (2009). A situation analysis of the food control systems in Arab Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. Food Control 20(12):1112-1118. doi: 10.1016/j.foodcont.2009.02.012. Caswell JA, Mojduszka EM (1996). Using informational labeling to influence the market for quality in food products. Am. J. Agric. Econ. 78(5):1248-1253. Caswell JA, Padberg DI (1992). Toward a more comprehensive theory of food labels. Am. J. Agric. Econ. 74(2):460-468. Cowburn G, Stockley L (2005). Consumer understanding and use of nutrition labelling: a systematic review. Public Health Nutr. 8(01):2128. Drichoutis AC, Lazaridis P, Nayga (Jr) RM (2009). On Consumers' valuation of Nutrition Information. Bull. Econ. Res. 61(3):223-247. FAO (2011). Food and Agriculture Organization. Rome: Food and Agriculture Organization, www.fao.org. Ibrahim M, Brewer A, Johnson F, Whitehead J (2010). Student Response to Transgenic Meat: An analysis of a Fort Valley State University Survey. Paper Prepared for Presentation at the Southern Agricultural Economics Association Annual Meeting, Orlando, Florida, February 69. Joint FAOWHOCAC (2007). Food labelling: Food & Agriculture Org. www.fao.org. Jones G, Jennings S, Ibrahim M, Whitehead J (2010). Will Consumers Pay a Premium for Clone-free labeled Meat products? Evidence from the 2009 Sunbelt Agricultural Exposition. Paper Prepared for Presentation at the Southern Agricultural Economics Association Annual Meeting, Orlando, Florida, February 69.

Kiesel K, Villas-Boas SB (2007). Got organic milk? Consumer valuations of milk labels after the implementation of the USDA organic seal. J. Agric. Food Ind. Org. 5(1):4. Kline J (2007). The Future of Food Information Services: UCB iSchool Report 2007-007. Long JS (1997). Regression models for categorical and limited dependent variables: Sage Publications, Inc. Loureiro ML, Gracia A, Nayga RM (2006). Do consumers value nutritional labels? Eur. Rev. Agric. Econ. 33(2):249. Lusk JL, Fox JA (2002). Consumer demand for mandatory labeling of beef from cattle administered growth hormones or fed genetically modified corn. J. Agric. Appl. Econ. 34(1):27-38. Mundi I (2012). United Arab Emirates Demographics Profile. http://www.indexmundi.com. Nurse G, Onozaka Y, Thilmany MD (2010). Understanding the connections between consumer motivations and buying behavior: The case of the local food system movement. Selected Paper prepared for presentation at the Southern Agricultural Economics Association Annual Meeting, Orlando, FL, February 6-9. Piedra MA, Schupp A, Montgomery D (1995). Household perceptions of the nutritional labeling of meats. J. Food Distrib. Res. 26:54-60. Prathiraja P, Ariyawardana A (2003). Impact of nutritional labeling on consumer buying behavior. Sri Lankan J. Agric. Econ. 5(1):35-46. Schupp A, Gillespie J, Reed D (1998). Consumer awareness and use of nutrition labels on packaged fresh meats: a pilot study. J. Food Distrib. Res. 29:24-30. Schupp A, Gillespie J (2001). Handler Reactions to Potential Compulsory Country-of-Origin Labeling of Fresh or Frozen Beef. J. Agric. Appl. Econ. 33:161-172. Souza-Monteiro DM, Caswell JA (2004). The economics of implementing traceability in beef supply chains: Trends in major producing and trading countries University of Massachusetts, Amherst Working Paper No. 2004-06. Taha M (2012). Food and Agricultural Import Regulations and Standards Narrative: USDA Foreign Agricultural Service Global Agricultural Information Network (GAIN) report No: UAE-2011-006. Tonsor G, Shupp R (2009). Valuations of Sustainably ProducedLabels on Beef, Tomato, and Apple Products. Agric. Resour. Econ. Rev. 38(3):371. Wills JM, Schmidt DB, PilloBlocka F, Cairns G (2009). Exploring global consumer attitudes toward nutrition information on food labels. Nutr. Rev. 67:S102-S106. Wozniak S (2010). Has Country of Origin Labeling Influenced Salmon Consumption? Selected Paper prepared for presentation at the Southern Agricultural Economics Association Annual Meeting, Orlando, FL, February 6-9.

African Journal of Agricultural Research Vol. 7(28), pp. 4029-4037, 24 July, 2012 Available online at http://www.academicjournals.org/AJAR DOI: 10.5897/AJAR12.057 ISSN 1991-637X 2012 Academic Journals

Full Length Research Paper

Social capital between farmers of Iran

Seyed Abolhasan Sadati1*, Alireza Ansari Ardali2 and Fatemeh Abbasi3
Young Researchers Club, Islamic Azad University, Karaj Branch, Karaj, Iran. Expert of rural corporation organization of Chahar Mahal Bakhtiari Province, Iran. 3 Department of Agricultural Extension and Education, Tarbiat Modares University, Iran.
2 1

Accepted 4 May, 2012

Social capital can potentially be used for wrong reasons such as criminal activities, self interests and the creation of unequal communities. In this regard, the issue of developing communities raises concern because social capital has not sufficiently been researched and documented in rural areas of the developing world. The purpose of this study was the assessment of social capital between rural farmers in Behbahan County in Iran and identified effective factors on it. For access to this purpose, 20 variables that measured social capital by questionnaire were used. 205 farmers were selected by systematic sampling between 7314 Behbahan farmers. This sample was selected from 38 villages by random sampling method from 150 villages of the county. Results of this study showed that majority of the farmers have a low level of social capital. According to the result, there are positive correlation between farmers literacy, family cost, off-farm income, extension participatory, human capital, financial capital, physical capital and social capital between farmers. Also there are negative significant relationships between social capital indicators with variables such as; farmers age, family size, experience in agricultural activities and agrarian land. Regression results showed that the six variables as human capital, participatory extension, agrarian land, off- farm income, family cost, and physical capital entered into the equation model and these variables explained 56.7% of the variance of the social capital indicator among the farmers. Key words: Social capital, farmers, indicator, normality test, Behbahan County, Iran. INTRODUCTION Social capital embedded in participatory groups within rural communities has been central to equitable and sustainable solutions to local development problems (Pretty and Ward, 2001). The sinister character of social capital can be understood because it can potentially be used for wrong reasons such as criminal activities, self interests and the creation of unequal communities. In this regard, the issue of developing communities raises concern because social capital has not sufficiently been researched and documented in rural areas of the developing world. There has been a rapid growth in interest in the term social capital in recent years (Carney, 1998; Flora, 1998; Grootaert, 1998; Ostrom, 1998; Pretty, 1998; Scoones, 1998; Uphoff, 1998). The term captures the idea that social bonds and social norms are an important part of the basis for sustainable livelihoods. Although, authors generally agree that it does exist in societies, the construct has been criticized as being difficult to define (Fukuyama, 2002), being difficult to measure (Bridger and Luloff, 2001), and as having a dark side (Fine, 1999). Despite this popularity, there is a lack of consensual and established definition of social capital (Grootaert and van Bastelaer, 2002). The notion of social capital is complex and multi-dimensional and defies a simple definition. It has been described as an attempt to reflect the intangibles, or non-economic aspects of society that promotes economic growth or positive development (Bryden and Hart, 2004). According to Fukuyama (1999), social capital has been defined in many ways by many different scholars, but these definitions are often manifestations of social capital

*Corresponding author. E-mail: abolhasan_sadati@yahoo.com. Tel: 00989163734495.

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rather than actual social capital; social capital it is largely based on trust within groups. It can be understood as a set of shared informal values or norms which enables cooperation. Social capital is "the shared knowledge, understandings, norms, rules, and expectations about patterns of interactions that groups of individuals bring to a recurrent activity" (Ostrom, 2000). Trust, is perhaps the most important component of social capital. If one's confidence in an enforcement agency falters, one does not trust people to fulfill their agreements and agreements are not entered into (Dasgupta, 2000). Social capital refers to the trust and shared norms of behavior that arise within informal social networks and generate externalities for the members of a group (Durlauf and Fafchamps, 2004). It influences the resources that an individual can mobilize through his or her social network (Woolcock and Narayan, 2000) and the propensity of community members to engage in collective action (Ostrom and Ahn, 2002). It is considered as an umbrella term that covers a variety of aspects of social organization, analogous to human and financial capital (Coleman, 1990). While some authors conceived social capital as an indivisible public good which the members of a group can enjoy (Coleman, 1988; Fukuyama, 1995; Putnam, 1993), others have considered it to be more of an individual asset which parties embedded in stable networks of relationships can use to gain access to other resources or capitals (Bourdieu, 1986; Coleman, 1990; Lin, 2001). Social capital has traditionally been operationalised through social network analysis (Lin et al., 2001; Paldam, 2001). This methodology highlights the relational nature of the social structure and implies that the explanation of social phenomena lies in the relationships among the units of analysis (people, groups and institutions, etc), rather than in the characteristics of those entities taken separately. Social capital involves a social structure exemplified by social interaction between the promotion of social cohesion amongst members of a group or community (Grootaert et al., 2004; Lloyd-Odger, 2005). Such connectedness arises from social relationships between two or more people that are characterized by mutual trust, reciprocity and collective resolution of problems that people may have in common (Putnam and Feldstein, 2003; Stone, 2003). The central thesis of the social capital literature is that features of social organization, such as networks of interaction, norms, and trust have resource potential to individuals and groups. Social capital has been linked to a variety of outcomes, such as success in job seeking behavior (Green et al., 1995), entrepreneurism (Portes and Sensenbrenner, 1993) and successful community action or development (Woolcock, 1998; Flora et al., 1997). It is defined as those features of social structures, such as levels of interpersonal trust and norms of reciprocity and mutual aid, which act as resources for

individuals and facilitate collective action (Coleman, 1990; Putnam, 1993a) and is characterized by levels of trust, civic engagement and norms of reciprocity (Putnam, 1993a; Lochner et al., 1999). Putnam presented that two of the key theoretical ingredients of social capital are general community trust and generalized reciprocity (Putnam, 1993b). Social capital serves to capture how people interact with each other, and how these social interactions in turn yield benefits for the individuals and collectively (Claridge, 2007; SCIG, 2000). Putnam (1993a, b, 2000) and other researchers looking at social capital at the community level, basically argued that people who know and trust one another are more likely to be able to work together to find solutions to problems that are mutually acceptable to everyone. Putnam (1996) himself seems to regard social capital as the same thing as civic engagement and at other times, he sees social capital as the cause of civic engagement, thus, confusing dependent and independent variables (Milner, 2002). Lowndes and Wilson (2001) argued that dense networks of civic engagement produce a capacity for trust, reciprocity and co-operation which in turn leads to a healthy economy and a healthy democracy. Anderson and Bell (2003) argued that social capital encourages the view that everything in social life of significance can be reduced to the rational and economic. It is possible that governmental action might not only lead to a decline in social capital, but also to its increase (Lowndes and Wilson, 2001; Akkerman et al., 2004; Levi, 1996). Social capital relies on social inclusion; it cannot develop if people are unwilling or unable to participate. Indeed, Anderson and Bell (2003) noted that social exclusion may as well be a product of high social capital. At local territorial level, planning and design factors affect levels of social capital with the presence of economic (shops, work), social and leisure facilities in the neighborhood setting providing opportunities for the informal contact and sociability associated with a developed social capital (Henning and Lieberg, 1996; Temkin and Rohe, 1998). Decentralized government structures offering opportunities for community and citizen input to decision-making (Maloney et al., 2000; Docherty et al., 2001), local leadership and capable state agency in communities (Krishna, 2001) are institutional factors conductive to mobilizing social capital in territorial communities and their capacity for policy influence linking social capital. Some argued that government can do relatively little to grow social capital in a community because it is the result of deep-rooted cultural and historic factors (Putnam et al., 1993), while others considered that governments can intervene to shape the social capital (Aldridge and Halpern, 2002; NESF, 2003). Krishna and Uphoff (1999) in their study showed that demographic characteristics and household attributes, such as education, wealth, and social status are not systematically associated with the level of social capital within households. In contrast, several community

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attributes reflecting participation and experience in dealing with community problems positively affected the social capital index. Recent scholarship has explored relationships between individuals socio-economic characteristics, social capital and group membership (Godoy et al., 2007; Thorpe et al. 2005). The key socioeconomic predictors include; level of educational attainment, age, social class position, economic (employment) status, marital status, home tenure and residential mobility (Hall, 1999; Putnam, 2000; Balanda and Wilde, 2003; Healy, 2004). Social capital is affected by income inequality; and several research results suggest that social capital and income inequality are negatively associated (Kawachi et al., 1996). Offe and Fuchs (2002) found that income, education, age, family size and gender had a direct relationship with social capital. According to Ghasemi et al. (2006), research on age, gender, education, activity, income and family size are the most influencing factors in social capital. Godoy et al. (2007) found only limited associations between individual characteristics and proxies for social capital (gift giving and participation in communal labor groups) amongst isolated rural communities. Instead, culture, kinship links and community norms emerged as key determinants of individual levels of social capital. Although, poverty, lack of labor and social status are highlighted as individual characteristics liable to preclude group membership, culture and history are integral to understanding local group formation, persistence and outcomes (Mosse 2006; Porter and Lyon 2006; Thorpe et al., 2005). The case study by Fafchamps and Minten (1999) suggests that cognitive social capital can increase incomes of agricultural traders and their families. The authors argued that social capital embodied in networks of trust has characteristics similar to other factors of production, such as physical capital and labor. Like these inputs, social capital is accumulated over time and improves economic performance. A range of new research showed that communities endowed with a rich stock of social networks and civic associations are in a stronger position to resolve disputes, share useful information, set up informal insurance mechanisms, implement successful development projects, and confront poverty and vulnerability (Isham et al., 2002). Putnam (1995) argued that a certain amount of wealth is needed to create social capital. Social capital is affected by many socio-economic factors, such as income inequality; and several research results suggested that social capital and income inequality are negatively associated (Kawachi et al., 1996). Studies in China showed that the social capital is declining in current rapid economic transitional period in China (Tao, 2003). Studies in China showed that the social capital is declining in current rapid economic transitional period in China (Kawachi and Berkman, 2000). Rowley (1999) in his study of social capital in sub-Saharan Africa, found a loose relationship between connectedness and wealth,

but causality was unclear: did well connected people become rich or rich people able to afford to be wellconnected. There may be cases, however, where a group might benefit from isolation, because it can avoid costly external demands. Clearly, not all forms of social capital are good for everyone. A society may be well organized, have strong institutions, have embedded reciprocal mechanisms, but be based not on trust but on fear and power, such as feudal, hierarchical, racist and unjust societies (Knight, 1992).
MATERIALS AND METHODS The instruments for data collection were questionnaire that consisted of two sections. Section one had 20 statements for assessment of social capital. Sixth point Likert scale ranged from 1= never to 6 = strongly agree. In order to test the amount of social capital of farmers in this research, according to (Kaasa 2009) research , 6 dimensions were used: (1) general trust that measured by 4 variables (2) institutional trust that measured by 5 variables (3) norms of helping that measured by 3 variables (4) norms of active social participation that measured by 3 variables (5) rural participation that measured by 3 variables and (6) tendency to rural livelihood that measured by 2 variables. Social capital measuring variables were ranked and presented in Table 2. The highest possible value for the social capital in this scale was 120 and the lowest 20. Section two of questionnaire contained demographic information, asking farmers' age, years of experience, level of education, literacy, and agrarian land etc. Questionnaire reliability was estimated by calculating Cronbach's alpha, which was 0.84. Area of study Behbahan County with extent of 3516 km2 was located in between longitude of 50 and 13 min and 50 and 16 min at East and in latitude of between 34 and 30 min and 30 and 37 min in the North. This county is placed in semi-arid region in East Southern of Khuzestan province of Iran and height of it from sea surface was 300 m (Figure 1). Annual rainfall average of county was 354 ml; the minimum temperature was -2.8C while the maximum temperature is 50.2C (Anon, 2009). Number of exploitable units of county is 7314 units that 82% of them have a space under 10 ha (Anon, 2006). Behbahan consists of five district and 150 villages. 205 farmers were selected by systematic sampling method and were selected from 38 villages by random sampling method between 150 villages.

RESULTS The mean of the respondents ages was about 44 years. Majority (56.7%, n =118) of respondent were 30 to 54 years old. All of the respondents in the study were males. The years of experience of respondents ranged from 3 to 50 and the mean of their experience was 22 years. The educational level of majorities (30%) of farmers was primary while the average number of family size of farmers was five people. The average size of farm to each farmer was equal to 5.5 ha, average of irrigated land was 4.1, and 1.5 ha of their lands were dry lands. Majority of farmers have low and very low knowledge about sustainable agriculture (52.4%) and 53.8 of farmers

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Table 1. Classification of farmers according to amount social capital indicator.

Variable Very low Low Moderate High Total

Frequency 30 79 57 39 205

Percent 14.6 38.5 27.8 19.1 100

Cumulative percent 14.9 53.1 80.9 100.0

have low and very low level use of methods of sustainable agriculture. According to the result of assessment of farmers job satisfaction, 50.5% of farmers have low and very low level of this factor. Result showed that 7.2% of farmers in this study were members of the rural Islamic Council and 68.4% of them were members of the rural production cooperatives. Social capital indicator was made with combined of 20 variables that presented in Table 2. Result showed that mean of this indicator was 87.35. Minimum and maximum of this indicator were 33 and 132. According to this indicator, farmers were classified in groups as indicated in Table 1. In order to classify farmers according to social capital indicator, the Interval of Standard Deviation from Mean (ISDM) index was used. The result showed that majority of farmers had a low level of this indicator (Table 1).

According to Result of Shapiro-Wilk statistic that showed in Table 3, do not reject the null hypothesis of normality (p<.059). Kolmogorov-Smirnov statistic of .058, but it provides an adjusted p-value of .094.

Correlation between research variables and social capital Result of Pearson correlation showed that there are positive correlation between farmers literacy, family cost, offfarm income, extension participatory, human capital, financial capital, physical capital and social capital indicator between farmers in Behbahan County. Also, there are negative significant relationships between social capital indicators with variables such as: farmers age, family size, experience in agriculture activities and agrarian land. The result of correlation presented in Table 4. Identifying the effective factors on adoption crop insurance indicator Table 5 presents the selected variables influence on the social capital indicator between farmers. This objective was accomplished using multiple regression analysis. Among 12 variables that entered into model 6 variables was significant influential on social capital and these variables together explained 56.7% of the variance of this indicator in the region selected for the study. The variable that entered the regression model first was Human capital Considered alone, this variable explained 45.1% of the variance in the amount of social capital indicator. The variable that entered the model second was Extension participatory and explained 4.2% of the variance. The third that entered in the equation was agrarian land and explained 2.8% of the variable alone. The forth variable was off- farm income that explained 1.5% of the indicator. The fifth significant variable was Family cost that explained 1.5% of the social capital. Finally the sixth variable that interned in the equation was Physical capital that explained 1.6% of the dependence variable. These variables together explained 56.7% of the variance in the social capital indicator among the farmers in the Behbahan County in Iran.

Ranking of social capital variables According to table Farmers argued that the most important variable of social capital was Information exchange with other farmers about agricultural new methods that this result showed that one of the best ways for formed social capital is information exchange with neighborhoods and other farmers in them region. The second major variable in social capital indicator was Amount of security feeling in rural environment. The third effective variable in formed social capital according to result of study was Norm of activity in voluntary rural organizations. Other variable ranked according to amount of importance and presented in Table 2.

Normality test In many statistical analyses, normality is often conveniently assumed without any empirical evidence or test. But normality is critical in many statistical methods. When this assumption is violated, interpretation and inference may not be reliable or valid (park, 2008). Both P-P and QQ plots show no significant deviation from the fitted line. According to normal Q-Q plot and detrended Q-Q plot that showed in Figure 2, has observed quintiles on the X axis and normal quintiles on the Y axis.

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Table 2. Ranking of social capital variable.

Variable Information exchange with other farmers about agricultural new methods Amount of security feeling in rural environment Norm of activity in voluntary rural organizations Norm of helping to other farmers Trust in group memberships Participation in rural programs Amount of tendency to living in village Tendency to relationship with legal system Norms of lending agricultural facilities from other farmers Voting Trust to other farmers Tendency to getting new information about agriculture Trust in the legal system Trust in politicians Tendency to participate in rural organizations Frequency of meeting socially Norm of activity in formal organizations Norm of activity in legal organizations for access to new information Amount of advisory with other farmers when facing with problems Norms of borrowing agricultural facilities from other farmers

Mean 3.92 3.73 2.66 3.61 3.50 3.43 3.36 3.26 3.22 3.22 3.22 3.19 3.16 3.16 3.14 3.10 2.09 2.09 3.01 2.75

Rank 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 9 9 12 13 13 15 16 17 17 19 20

Figure 1. The location of the study area (Behbahan) on the Khuzestan province, Iran.

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Figure 2. Graphical result of normality test.

Table 3. Statistical result of normality test.

Variable Social capital

Kolmogorov-Smirnov(a) Statistic df Sig. 0.058 205 0.094

Statistic 0.987

Shapiro-Wilk df 205

Sig. 0.059

Table 4. Correlation between research variable and social capital.

Variables Farmers age Farmers literacy Family size Experience in agriculture activities agrarian land Family cost Off- farm income Extension participatory Human capital Financial capital Physical capital Natural capital

Social capital indicator Correlation P-value -0.368** 0.000 0.384** 0.000 -0.348** 0.000 -0.339** 0.000 -0.192** 0.006 0.354** 0.000 0.328** 0.000 0.578** 0.000 0.681** 0.000 0.156* 0.025 0.143* 0.034 0.164* 0.015

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Table 5. Results of multiple regression analysis.

Source of variation Regression Residual Total Variables in the equation Variables Human capital Extension participatory Agrarian land Off- farm income Family cost Physical capital Variables not in the equation Variables Farmers age Farmers literacy Family size Experience in agricultural activities Natural capital Financial capital

Degrees of freedom 6 167 173

Sum of squares 32188.053 24588.251 56776.305

Mean square 5364.676 147.235

F-Ratio 36.436

P-Value 0.000

R2 Cumulative 0.451 0.493 0.521 0.536 0.551 0.567

R2 Change 0.451 0.042 0.028 0.015 0.015 0.016

F Change 9.184 3.310 3.042 3.700 -3.068 2.498

P Change < .01 < .01 < .01 < .01 < .01 < .01

Beta 0.615 0.213 0.175 0.233 -0.192 0.146

Beta -0.064 0.091 -0.103 -0.026 0.37 -0.008

t -0.880 1.259 -1.528 -364 0.184 -0.138

Sig-t 0.380 0.210 0.128 0.716 0.854 0.890

Conclusion Social capital is at the heart of quality of life issues. From education to health to development, improving social capital can affect the life of a rural community and has been central to equitable and sustainable solutions to local development problems. The empirical studies indicate that social capital has a profound impact in many different areas of human life and development: it affects the provision of services in both urban and rural areas; transforms the prospects for agricultural development; influences the expansion of private enterprises; improves the management of common resources; helps improve education; can prevent conflict; and can compensate for a deficient state. More generally, it helps alleviate poverty for individuals and for countries as a whole. The purpose of this study was assessment of social capital between rural farmers and identifying effect factors on it. There are various different definitions about social capital. In order to test the amount of social capital in this paper, six dimensions of social capital were used: (1) general trust that (2) institutional trust that (3) norms of helping (4) norms of active social participation (5) rural participation (6) tendency to rural livelihood. Older people in rural areas are invisible, or marginal to policy development (Milne et al., 2002). Social capital is especially significant for older people whose lives are rooted in localities and who may be particularly dependent on social interaction to promote well-being

(Shucksmith, 2000). It is important to stress that older people are not a homogenous group and there is no single experience of living in rural areas (Milne et al., 2002, 2007). Mean of farmers age were high. On the other hand, age has negative correlation with social capital. The result of this study showed that the majority of rural farmers have low social capital and this result was confirmed by previous studies. According to the result, majority of farmers have low membership or participation in rural organization while some authors argued that when people are well organized in groups, and their knowledge is sought, incorporated and built upon during planning and implementation, then, they are more likely to sustain activities after project completion (Singh and Ballabh, 1997; Uphoff et al., 1998), on the other hand, some researchers argued that indigenous communities generate strong connectedness among them and carry out collective activities successfully (Garforth and Munro, 1995; Uphoff, 1996; Wolff and Wahab, 1996). The correlation result showed that there is positive correlation between farmers literacy as confirmed by Ghasemi et al. (2006), Offe and Fuchs (2002), and Healy (2004). Family cost, off-farm income, extension participation, human capital, financial capital, physical capital, and social capital between farmers were rejected by Kawachi et al. (1996) and confirmed by Ghasemi et al. (2006), and Offe and Fuchs (2002). Also, there are negative significant relationships between social capital

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indicator and variables such as: farmers age, family size, and experience in agricultural activities and agrarian land, which were rejected by Ghasemi et al. (2006), and Offe and Fuchs (2002). Result showed that farmers had various economic statuses, and this factor has negative effect on social capital. Economic needs are important, but these exist alongside cultural, political and social needs in societies. While result showed that farmers by connections to social groups can produce social capital. These actions constitute different forms of indigenous social capital, and act as a resource for people to counterbalance negative effects of poverty. Putnam (1995) argued that a certain amount of wealth is needed to create social capital. According to the result of stepwise regression Human capital, Extension participatory, agrarian land, offfarm income, Family cost, Physical capital were effective factors on social capital formed between rural farmers. According to result of paper recommended that: 1. With holding formal and informal educational courses, Iranian government can increase level of education and literacy between rural farmers that this way increase social capital in long term. 2. With diversification in resource of rural income, Iranian government can increase income in rural communities that this politic caused increase social capital. 3. With integration and creation of land and cooperative development between farmers can increase agrarian land and finally increase social capital.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT The authors wish to acknowledge Behbahan farmers who voluntarily participated in this study.

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African Journal of Agricultural Research Vol. 7(28), pp. 4038-4044, 24 July, 2012 Available online at http://www.academicjournals.org/AJAR DOI: 10.5897/AJAR12.148 ISSN 1991-637X 2012 Academic Journals

Full Length Research Paper

Mapping Indonesian paddy fields using multipletemporal satellite imagery

Nono Lee*, Agnes Monica and Inul Daratista
Institute of Dangdut, Jalan Tersesat No.100, Jakarta, 10000, Indonesia.
Accepted 22 June, 2012

There is a growing demand for rice with increase in population. As rice is still the major staple food in Indonesia, the task of increasing rice production continues to engage the attention of national planners. Various methods used in estimating rice areas can provide information periodically through different information satellite data, which have a wide coverage area, and can be used as a source of information on the condition of rice areas. This study has an objective of using multi-temporal satellite imagery from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MODIS) to map the Indonesian rice paddies area. The algorithm was based on temporal profiles of vegetation strength and water content, using electromagnetic surface reflectance in visible to near infrared range. The results obtained from the analysis were compared to national statistics. Estimated Indonesian regional rice area was 8.27 million ha, which agrees with published values. The model performance was dependent on rice ecosystems. Good linear relationships between the model results and the national statistics were observed for all types of rice fields. Key words: Geographic information system (GIS), satellite data, moderate resolution imaging spectrometer (MODIS), rice, paddy field, remote sensing. INTRODUCTION Indonesia is one of the world's leading rice producers, with paddy production in 2003 of more than 50 million tonnes and a cultivated area of more than 11.5 million ha. Since 1980, Indonesia's national rice yield has been the highest in tropical Asia. Indonesians are also big consumers of rice, averaging more than 200 kg per head each year (Blum, 1993). Rice is grown at varying altitudes, with about 75% of plantings in irrigated areas and less than 10% on rainfed lowlands. Most rice production takes place on the island of Java under irrigation. Lowland varieties belong mainly to the indica sub-species and about 85% of them are high-yielding (Blum, 1993). This research aims at mapping Indonesian rice paddies with different rice ecosystems. The area planted to rice increased by 33% between 1969 and 1990. Since then, however, the conversion of many ricelands in Java to non-agricultural uses has contributed to a fall in total output. Sustainable rice production requires the development and deployment of new rice varieties and crop management technologies and approaches. Indonesia achieved rice sufficiency in 1984. From being a chronic rice importer in the 1970s, Indonesia is today, the third biggest rice producer in the world, and has been consistently so in the past decades. Between 1970 and 2006, Indonesia's average rice yield rose by 90% from 2.35 t/ha to 4.62 t/ha. Today, Indonesia is the 4th most populous country in the world. A population increase of 1.5% per year requires a corresponding increase in food supply (Blum, 1993).

*Corresponding author. E-mail: lee_nono@ymail.com.

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It is in this context that Indonesia's agricultural development program now has three main aims: a) increased national food security through higher food production and lower food imports, b) increased added value and competitiveness of agricultural products, and c) improved quality of life and less poverty for farming households through high productivity. Spatial information of Indonesian rice paddies is required for regional rice cropping/water managements and estimates of rice yield. Necessary information for informed management includes rice cropping frequency, rice ecosystem type (irrigated, rainfed lowland, upland, and flood-prone), and areal distribution. This research applies the multitemporal satellite imagery for mapping rice paddies with different rice ecosystems over Indonesia. Indonesia has very wide coverage area that consists of thousands of islands with various geographic conditions. It causes difficulties to carry out field data collection activities. The cost for inventory, monitoring and updating of land use in the conventional field survey is very high, so the method can not be implemented in a relatively short time. Remote sensing technology that periodically records earth surface can be used as an alternative to support field research mainly to changes in land use, including the planting period in the paddy field. Moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer (MODIS) is a key instrument aboard the Terra (EOS AM) and Aqua (EOS PM) satellites. Terra's orbit around the earth is timed so that it passes from north to south across the equator in the morning, while Aqua passes south to north over the equator in the afternoon. Terra MODIS and Aqua MODIS view the entire earth's surface every 1 to 2 days, acquiring data in 36 spectral bands, or groups of wavelengths (Canny, 1986). MODIS has visible, near infrared and shortwave infrared bands; and therefore, a number of vegetation indices can be calculated, including normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), enhanced vegetation index (EVI) and land surface water index (LSWI) that is sensitive to leaf water and soil moisture. In this research, we developed a paddy rice mapping algorithm that uses time series of the vegetation indices derived from MODIS images to identify that initial period of flooding and transplanting in paddy rice fields, based on the sensitivity of LSWI, increased surface moisture during the period of flooding and rice transplanting (Chang et al., 1998). This research aims at mapping Indonesian rice paddies with different rice ecosystems. It is a simple method that can be applied at the regional scale. In addition, the results also include spatial information on rice cropping frequency. This information can further be used to quantitatively estimate air pollution emissions from Indonesian rice paddies and evaluate climate change effects attributed to the emissions.

MATERIALS AND METHODS MODIS imagery data The MODIS surface reflectance of 8-day L3 Global 500 m SIN Grid V005, or MOD09A1, data set from 2006 to 2007 was acquired for this research. Each grid value gives the percentage of the radiant energy in the specific bandwidth to the total energy integrated over the entire spectrum. In this research, the MODIS surface reflectance in four spectral bands, in the visible and near-infrared, was considered. These bands are 1: 620 to 670 nm (visible-red: VISR), band 2: 841 to 876 nm (near-infrared: NIR), band 3: 459 to 479 nm (visible-blue: VISB), and band 6: 1628 to 1652 nm (shortwave-infrared: SWIR). The products were downloaded from the USGS Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center (Deriche, 1987) (Figure 1). These reflectance products are reported at a 500 m resolution in a level 3, grid projection. Each pixel contains the best possible L2G (daily) observation during an 8-day period. These version 5 reflectance products are validated stage 1, meaning that accuracy has been estimated using a small number of independent measurements obtained from selected locations and time periods and ground-truth/field program efforts. The products are in HDFEOS format. Prior to the analysis, these data were converted to GeoTIFF format and reprojected to UTM zone 48 projected coordinate system with the WGS1984 (the World Geodetic Survey System of 1984) datum by using MODIS Reprojection Tool (MRT) from USGS/LPDAAC. These reprojected data sets were used in the land classification analyses running on the Model animation in ArcGIS 9.9 software with integrated Gozilla scripts (Gonzalez and Woods, 1992).

Climate The climate of Indonesia is almost entirely tropical. The uniformly warm waters that make up 81% of Indonesia's area ensure that temperatures on land remain fairly constant, with the coastal plains averaging 28C, the inland and mountain areas averaging 26C, and the higher mountain regions, 23C. Temperature varies slightly from season to season, and Indonesia experiences relatively slight change in the length of daylight hours from one season to the next; the difference between the longest day and the shortest day of the year is only forty eight minutes. This allows crops to be grown all year round. The main variable of Indonesia's climate is not temperature or air pressure, but rainfall. The area's relative humidity ranges between 70 and 90%. Winds are moderate and generally predictable, with monsoons usually blowing in from the south and east in June through September and from the northwest in December through March.

Data processing The normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), the enhanced vegetation index (EVI), the normalized build-up index (NDBI), and the land surface water index (LSWI: negative NDBI) are calculated from the surface reflectance, , in visible-red (VISR; MODIS-band 1), near-infrared (NIR; MODIS-band 2), visible-blue (VISB; MODISband 3), and shortwave-infrared (SWIR; MODIS-band 6) using the following equations:

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Figure 1. An example of MODIS imagery over Sumatra Island.

NDVI = (NIR-VISR)/ (NIR+VISR) EVI = 10.5 (NIR-VISR)/ (NIR+10 VISR- 12.05 VISB + 0.75) NDBI = (SWIR-NIR)/ (SWIR+NIR) (3) NDVI and EVI were used in this research to enhance the vegetation detection sensitivity of the MODIS surface reflectance. Both indices are estimated by normalizing the difference between the radiances in the near-infrared spectra and in the red-visible spectra. In addition, EVI incorporates the additional blue band to correct for aerosol influences in the red band and the canopy background adjustment. In this research, the time-series NDVIs were used to identify forests, which include perennial and seasonal plantations. The time-series EVIs were used to identify rice paddies with different ecosystems because of its higher sensitivity to canopy structural variation. Different rice ecosystems and the annual cropping frequency are identified from rice canopy development patterns. The four major rice ecosystems as categorized by International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) are: irrigated, rainfed lowland, upland, and floodprone. All four ecosystems can be found in Indonesia. Their characteristics are detailed thus. Irrigated rice is grown in fields with assured irrigation for one or more crops a year. It is planted in leveled, diked fields with water control. Rice can either be transplanted from nursery mats

or directly seeded in puddled soil. Intermediate fallow periods range from a few days to three months. Rainfed lowland rice is grown only once a year during the wet season when there is sufficient water from rain. It is planted in leveled to slightly sloping, diked fields with non-continuous flooding. The water level does not exceed 50 cm for more than ten consecutive days. Rice can either be transplanted in puddled soil or directly seeded on puddled or plowed dry soil. Deepwater rice or flood-prone rice has only one crop per year during the wet season when natural flooding occurs. It is planted in leveled to slightly sloping or depressed fields. Water levels range from 50 to more than 300 cm for more than 10 consecutive days in growth stage. Rice can either be transplanted in puddled soil or directly seeded on plowed dry soil. Upland rice can grow in both flat and sloping fields, which rarely flood and are not diked. This rice is prepared and directly seeded on plowed dry soil or dibbled in wet soil that depends on rainfall for moisture (Katsuaki et al., 1995). A rice-cropping cycle takes three to six months depending on the rice ecosystems. Rice canopy development is generally divided into three phases: 1) Vegetative phase occurs around 60 days after sowing. Generally, germination and early seeding stages are prepared in nursery mats and then transplanted into puddled, leveled fields. The water signature dominates during transplanting. 2) Productive phase starts around 60 days after sowing or 30 days

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Figure 2. Spatial rice paddy distribution map over Indonesia generated from time-series MODIS imagery analysis.

after transplanting and lasts until the 90 th day. Plants rapidly grow and reach fully developed height. The plant canopies cover most of the water surface, intensifying the vegetation signature. 3) Ripening phase is from the 90 th day to about the 120 th day. Golden grains start developing. The vegetation signature is still dominant but lessens due to drying leaves. This period could be extended to six months in the case of deepwater rice. Accuracy assessment The national statistics of forest, perennial plantation, and rice paddy areas were acquired to compare with the results obtained from the MODIS time-series models. These comparisons were done on a provincial /state level (Leech et al., 2003).

RESULTS Figure 2 shows the spatial distributions of paddy rice in Indonesia. Rice cultivation covered a total of around 10 million ha throughout the archipelago, primarily on sawah. The supply and control of water is crucial to the productivity of rice land, especially when planted with high-yield seed varieties. In 1987, irrigated sawah

covered 58% of the total cultivated area, rainfed sawah accounted for 20%, and ladang, or dryland cultivation, together with swamp or tidal cultivation covered the remaining 22% of rice cropland. Swampland in Indonesia is the most important remaining land resource for the development of new rice fields. However, the development and maintenance costs for the infra structure are high. The environmental impact of a new development could be considerable. Large variations in rice yield levels in Indonesia are due to many factors. Those factors have different scales of magnitude within regions, provinces, and districts up to farmers field level. Those factors are also classified as manageable and unmanageable. Yield gaps, therefore, should be divided into different scales and management. Yield gaps at different levels in various areas are indicated by the lowest and the highest yields of rice in such areas as compared to their average. The priorities of reducing yield gaps (bridging) are possibly either to increase the lowest yield to the average or to increase yields that give the highest impact to rice production of those areas (Pearlman et al., 2003). The data on rice

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Table 1. Harvest areas, production and yield of lowland rice in each province in Indonesia.

Province 1. D.I. Aceh 2. North Sumatra 3. West Sumatra 4. Riau 5. Jambi 6. South Sumatra 7. Bengkulu 8. Lumping Sumatra 9. DKI Jakarta 10. West Java 11. Central Java 12. Yogyakarta 13. East Java Java 14. Bali 15. Western-S.E. Nusa 16. Eastern-S.E. Nusa 17. East Timor Bali and S.E. Nusa 18. West Kalimantan 19. Central Kalimantan 20. South Kalimantan 21. East Kalimantan Kalimantan 22. North Sulawesi 23. Central Sulawesi 24. South Sulawesi 25. S.E. Sulawesi Sulawesi 26. Maluku 27. Irian Jaya Maluku and Irian Jaya Indonesia

Harvest area (ha) 339785 716182 411716 116766 152383 395253 91259 370942 2594286 3576 1957743 1534936 100125 1529309 5125689 155964 268327 101657 17418 543366 242030 102530 355378 82436 782374 103130 163500 841066 77887 1185583 6626 13469 20095 10251393

Production (tonnes) 1400425 2966681 1929622 389776 530186 1456587 337835 1620487 10631599 17347 10342690 8170309 562025 8377019 27469390 836047 1232870 323246 48835 2440998 674537 269530 1103402 248596 2296065 446693 561383 4008277 276556 5292909 19619 37675 57294 48188255

Actual yield (t/ha) 4.12 4.14 4.69 3.34 3.48 3.69 3.7 4.37 4.1 4.85 5.28 5.32 5.61 5.48 5.36 5.36 4.59 3.18 2.8 4.49 2.79 2.63 3.1 3.02 2.93 4.33 3.43 4.77 3.55 4.46 2.96 2.8 2.85 4.7

Range of actual yield (t/ha) 3.75-4.81 3.57-4.66 3.89-5.29 3.12-3.47 3.14-3.97 3.26-4.22 3.51-3.84 4.16-4.65 3.12-5.29

4.34-5.59 4.49-6.09 4.74-5.85 4.48-5.85 4.34-6.09 5.22-5.65 3.84-4.80 2.50-3.39 2.50-5.65 2.29-2.94 2.01-2.82 2.69-3.95 2.89-3.10 2.01-3.95 3.88-4.52 3.10-3.57 3.46-5.60 3.10-3.70 3.10-5.60 2.94-3.01 2.94-3.01 2.01-6.09

yields at provincial level are presented in Table 1. The result from the model showed that the rice paddy area accounted for 8.7% of total Indonesian land area. The estimated total regional rice paddy area is 8.27 million ha, which is consistent with the areas reported in

Pour et al. (2011), 8.01 million ha, and by Blum (1993), 10 million ha. Linear regression plots of the MODIS rice paddy areas and the rice paddy areas were acquired from the national rice database by province (or state) for Indonesia (Figure 3).

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1400000
1200000

MODIS Estimation (ha)

1000000 800000 600000 y = 1.3301x - 8902.7 R = 0.9776

400000
200000 0 0 200000 400000 600000

800000

1000000

National estimate (ha)

Figure 3. Linear regression plots of the MODIS rice paddy areas and the rice paddy areas acquired from the national rice database by province.

DISCUSSION The combination of NDVI and EVI has been carried out to recognize various cropping pattern based on available knowledge on growing period of paddy and other seasonal crops. The analysis, integrated with logical inference based on knowledge of paddy growing stage, produces the map of paddy field distribution. By considering some influencing factors, agricultural condition can be prospective to develop the map of paddy field type. The paddy field level is derived from some parameters based on their level of influencing agricultural land condition. There was poor correlation between the estimated rice areas and the national rice statistics. One of the outlier estimates was observed in the Papua region. The model reports 3 million ha rice paddies over this region, while the national rice statistics are only 0.02 million ha. The cause of this discrepancy is not understood. This model predicts that deepwater and irrigated rice are dominant in southern Papua. In actuality, the major crops are root and tuber crops, such as yam, taro, sweet potato, vegetables, and fruits. Based on the results, strategies for bridging rice yield gaps in Indonesia are as follows: a) To improve the infrastructure and methodology

(technical improvement, socio-economic improvements, better policy environment) such as construction and improvement of irrigation systems including groundwater exploitation, improved drainage systems, and soil amelioration; b) To set priorities on increasing rice yields of the districts having lower average yield compared to the average yield level of their province; c) Site specific improvements: prescription farming, using adaptable rice varieties etc. Major improvements should be carried out in Sumatra, Nusa Tenggara and Sulawesi to overcome major constraints, such as water shortages, poor drainage, Fe toxicities and acid soils, low prices of the product, and marketing. The examples of major improvements are construction and improvement of irrigation systems, drainage systems, soil amelioration, transport systems, market systems, and price policies. In this case, Java and Bali will not be considered as important, because the facilities in those regions are already considered sufficient, having good natural resources (high soil fertility and sufficient water resources). Prioritized districts in each province to increase rice yield or to reduce yield gaps are using the aforementioned method. In Java, there is no special district to prioritize to increase rice yields. In this area, bridging rice

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yield gaps should be done in line with increasing the efficiency of production inputs such as adopting prescription farming, and using high-value rice varieties (of high grain quality with high price). Using the prescription farming procedure, in which the needs for fertilizers on rice are calculated based on soil tests, targeted yield levels and climate, the efficiency of fertilizer usage could be reduced or even, the rice yield could be increased (Waterman and Hamilton, 1975). Conclusions There is a growing demand for rice with increase in population. As rice is still the major staple food in Indonesia, the task of increasing rice production continues to engage the attention of national planners. There are five identified avenues to increase rice production, namely: a) by increasing the area under rice production through either increasing the cropping intensity or expansion into new lands; b) by increasing rice productivity; c) by stabilizing rice yields; d) by narrowing the rice yield gap; and e) by reducing yield losses during harvest and post-harvest. In this context, increasing cropping intensity is related to the improvement/building irrigation systems to enable planting of two or three rice crops per year. Productivity is related to finding new high yielding rice varieties that potentially increase the yield per ha; stabilizing rice yields by better pest management to prevent or to control pest attacks and disease incidence; and post-harvest activities related to development of harvest and post-harvest technologies. The efficacy and efficiency of those methods for increasing rice production differ from one region to another, which are dependent on natural and socio-economic conditions. Indonesian rice paddies with different rice ecosystems were mapped using time-series satellite imagery analysis. This imagery was generated from the 500 m resolution MODIS/terra spectral surface reflectance (MOD09A1) data acquired from 2006 to 2007. The algorithm for mapping rice paddy area was developed based on the observed temporal Indonesian rice canopy developments. This algorithm distinguishes different rice ecosystems and provides rice-cropping frequency. The total estimated rice area for Indonesia was 8.27 million ha, which is consistent with published values. Comparison of the estimated rice paddy area (y) and the national rice statistics (x) on the provincial or state level show high linear correlations over the areas dominated by rainfed. This model can be used to identify Indonesian areas

that are influenced by activities attributed to rainfed, irrigated, and upland rice cultivation. Model users could be state officers or inter-country partners working on regional water management for agriculture and on agricultural yield estimation. Atmospheric scientists can also employ the model's results to estimate regional budget and spatial loading of pollutants attributed to biomass burning and rice cultivation. Ground data should be collected in each paddy field class for validating the results. It is highly suggestive to have analysis using newly completed series data images with at least two years data series which represent each phase of paddy. Estimation of water demand by using remote sensing data and considering some water resources, such as amount of precipitation, available water surface, etc., could be expanded for the next research. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The authors would like to thank Group Dangdut and the MODIS imagery for providing good results.
REFERENCES Blum WEH (1993). Soil protection concept of the council of Europe and integrated soil research. In: Eijsackers HAP, Hamers T, editors. Integrated Soil and Sediment Research: A Basis for proper protection. Kluwer Academic Publishers, pp. 37-47. Canny JA (1986). Computational Approach To Edge Detection. IEEE Transactions on Pattern Analysis and Machine Intelligence. PAMI, 8(6):679-698. Chang Y, Song G, Hsu S (1998). Automatic Extraction of Ridge and Valley Axes Using the Profile Recognition and Polygon-Breaking Algorithm. Comput. Geosci. 24(1):83-93. Deriche R (1987). Using Canny's criteria to derive a recursively implemented optimal edge detector. Int. J. Comput. Vision, 1(2):167187. Gonzalez R, Woods R (1992). Digital Image Processing, 3rd edition (March 1992), Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, pp. 200-229. Katsuaki K, Shuichi N, Ohmi M (1995). Lineament analysis of satellite images using a segment tracing algorithm (STA). Comput. Geosci. 21(9):1091-1104. Leech DP, Treloar PJ, Lucas NS, Grocott J (2003). Landsat TM analysis of fracture patterns: a case research from the Coastal Cordillera of northern Chile. Int. J. Remote Sens. 24(19):3709-3726. Pearlman JS, Barry PS, Segal CC, Shepanski J, Beiso D, Carman SL (2003). Hyperion, a Space-Based Imaging Spectrometer. IEEE Trans. Geos. Remote Sens. 41(6):1160-1173. Pour BA, Hashim M, Marghany M (2011). Using spectral mapping techniques on short wave infrared bands of ASTER remote sensing data for alteration mineral mapping in SE Iran. Int. J. Phys. Sci. 6(4):917-929. Waterman GC, Hamilton RL (1975). The Sarcheshmeh porphyry copper deposit. Econ. Geol. 70:568-576.

African Journal of Agricultural Research Vol. 7(28), pp. 4045-4055, 24 July, 2012 Available online at http://www.academicjournals.org/AJAR DOI: 10.5897/AJAR11.1541 ISSN 1991-637X 2012 Academic Journals

Full Length Research Paper

The leaf growth model and influencing factors in Phalaenopsis orchid

Chiachung Chen1* and Meiyu Chien
Department of Bio-industrial Mechatronics Engineering, National ChungHsing University, 250 Kuokuang Road, Taichung Taiwan. 2 International Master Program of Agriculture, National ChungHsing University, 250 Kuokuang Road, Taichung Taiwan.
Accepted 6 June, 2012
1

To evaluate the factors affecting the growth characteristics of Phalaenopsis leaves, the leaf-length growth patterns of two Phalaenopsis varieties, the red-flower Phalaenopsis clones LB9506 and LB9508, were measured under different environment condition such as day temperature, light intensity, and fertilizer rates. The fitting-agreement of three nonlinear growth equations was compared for evaluating leaf-length data for two varieties. The parameters of the adequate equation then were further studied. The results indicated the logistic equation was the best equation for describing the relationship between leaf-length and culture days. The parameters of this equation could be interpreted biologically. Environmental conditions and fertilizer rates had a significant effect on the maximal leaflength for two varieties. The growth rate of one variety, LB9506, was influenced significantly by day temperature and light intensity. However, the growth rate of the other variety, LB9508, was not affected. As the plant growth data were fitted with the nonlinear growth equations and the parameters analyzed, it was discovered that this method was useful in studying the factors affecting Phalaenopsis leaf growth characteristics. Key words: Growth equation, nonlinear regression, Phalaenopsis. INTRODUCTION Phalaenopsis orchids have become the highest value potted plants in the world. To ensure the quantity and quality of the orchid production, the effects of plant growth factors, such as temperature, light intensity and fertilizer concentrations need to be understood. Healthy leaves are the basic requirement for Phalaenopsis cultivation. Photosynthesis and transpiration are involved in leaf development. The growth of leaves involves energy transfer, mass accumulation and transportation. The development of the leaf-length is influenced by temperature, light intensity, fertilization management and other factors (Dwyer and Stewart, 1986). The optimal conditions of these factors are important for the orchid growers. Lopez and Runkle (2004) measured the leaf and flower development of Zygopetalum Redrale Fire Kiss Orchid under five temperature conditions. The authors found that the required period to unfold one leaf was decreased as temperature increased. The plant growth model is useful in describing the relationship between the plant growth index and growth time (Thornley and Johnson, 1990). The parameters of these models need to be interpreted biologically. The influence of affecting factors then could be evaluated by the parameter value. Khamis et al. (2005) proposed several leaf-length models to demonstrate the usefulness of the research for crop managements. Karadavut et al. (2010a) compared the fitting-agreement of several nonlinear leaf growth models for five maize cultivars. Joly and Hahn (1989) used the modified logistic equation to describe the leaf expansion of cacao seedlings and adopted the parameters of this equation to explore genotypic differences in response to water stress. This

*Corresponding author. E-mail: ccchen@dragon.nchu.edu.tw. Tel: 886-4-22857562. Fax: 886-4-22857135.

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modified logistic model provided an accurate quantitative description of leaf growth patterns. de Visser and van den Berg (1998) developed a two-parameter logistic model to describe the relationship between onion bulb weight and culture days and used it to calculate the optimal plant density. Willcutts et al. (1998) selected three mathematical models, the quadratic, the linear-plateau and logistic equation to estimate the fertilizer N (nitrogen fertilizers) requirements of lettuce and found the logistic model was the best fit for evaluating the lettuce responses to applied N. Godoy et al. (2008) compared the fitting-agreement of five nonlinear models in analyzing the growth pattern of blueberry fruit diameter of different cultivars. Barker et al. (2010) measured the patterns of herbage accumulation by time and location and found that the Gompertz equation could be best in describing the growth pattern. Karadavut et al. (2010b) measured the relative growth rate of three silage corn cultivars and evaluated the fitting-agreement of nonlinear growth equations for analyzing these data. The Weibull equation showed better fit than the other growth equations for all of cultivars. The objectives of this study were (1) to measure the leaf-length of two Phalaenopsis orchid varieties under different temperatures, light intensity and fertilizer concentrations, (2) to compare the fitting-ability growth equations for evaluating leaf-length data, (3) to evaluate the factors affecting the growth characteristics of leaves by the parameters of the best fit growth equation.
MATERIALS AND METHODS Model development The growth indexes of orchids include the leaf-length, leaf area, fresh weight or dry weight. The leaf-length is considered the most important index of dry matter accumulation (Lopez and Runkle, 2004). The growth leaf-length is a function of time (t). L (t) = f (t) The growth rate is expressed as: (1)

Combining Equations (3) and (4) resulted in the following:

dL

dt = K 2 (L f -L(t))

(5) (6)

L(t) = Lf + c1(1-exp(-K1t))

Equation (6) is the monomolecular equation. If the growth rate is assumed to be proportional to the substrate Ls and length L, then:

dL

dt

= K 2 L(Lf -L)

(7)

L=

Lf Lf 1+( -1) exp(-K 2 t) L0

(8)

where L0 is the initial length. This equation is the logistic equation. If the growth rate is assumed to be an exponential function of the time, then: Kg = K0 exp (-Dt) (9)

dL

dt = K 0 L exp (-Dt)

(10) (11)

L= L0 exp(K3(1- exp(-Dt)))

where K0, D and K3 are constant. Equation (11) is the Gompertz equation. These equations are derived from the mechanical function of growth. The parameters of some empirical equations, such as the higher-order polynomial equation, cannot provide any biologically meaning. The parameters of the above-described equations, derived by theoretically can be interpreted biologically. The Lf value of the monomolecular and logistic equations expresses the maximal length; it is explained as the maturing index. The parameter, K1, K2 and K3 represents the growth rate under specific conditions. Plant materials The red-flower clones Phalaenopsis LB9506 and LB9508, cultured by LeBio Orchids Co. (Tainan, Taiwan), were used in this study. Plants with a leaf span of 20 to 25 cm, and with three and a new leaves, were grown in 9 cm plastic pots filled with sphagnum moss. All plants were placed in benches in different compartment of the same greenhouse. The greenhouse environment was controlled with a computerized control system. The plants were fertilized with 20 N - 20P - 20K liquid fertilizer (Hyponex Corp., Marysville, OH) in different concentrations. The moisture content of the sphagnum moss medium was detected by a WET meter (Delta-T, Delta Co., UK). Plants were irrigated or fertilized when the moisture content was less than 15% (wet basic). Experimental design Four experiments were conducted simultaneously in the same greenhouse in Shanhua town, Tainan Taiwan. Experimental design included two day temperatures and two light intensities. The low temperature region was near the pad side of the greenhouse and the high temperature region was close to the side of exhaust fans.

dL = f ( L, t ) dt

(2)

The simplest equation is to assume that growth rate is proportional to the length, the governing equation is:

dL

dt

= Ls

(3)

where is the growth rate and Ls is the substrate level of the model. The growth of living organs had its limitation. If the assumption of the growth rate is proportional to a substrate level Ls, the final leaflength is Lf Lf = Ls + L(t) (4)

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The high light intensity was the actual light intensity of the experimental greenhouse. The low light intensity was created with the 50% shading nets. The experiment was conducted from November 2008 to February 2009. The temperature and relative humidity of four regions were recorded by using of the EJ - HS - B8 data logger (Escort Co., UK). The light intensity was recorded by using of the HOBO S-LIA PAR meter and data logger (HOBO H8, Onset computer Corp., Bourne, ME). All sensors were placed at canopy level. The four experimental conditions were as follows: 1. High day temperature and high light intensity (HTHL): 26-30 C, 200-280 mol m-2 s-1 2. High day temperature and low light intensity (HTLL): 26-30 C, 150-210 mol m-2 s-1 3. Low day temperature and high light intensity (LTHI): 23-27 C, 200-280 mol m-2 s-1 4. Low day temperature and low light intensity (LTLI): 23-27C, 150210 mol m-2 s-1 Plants in each region were fertilized with three fertilization concentrations. The fertilizer rates were 167, 250 and 333 mgL-1 and its symbol was LF, MF and HF. Each treatment had ten plants. Leaf- length measurement The sample plant had three fully developed leaves and a new leaf. The length of the new leaf ranged from 0.7 to 1.8 cm. The leaflengths of all plants were measured at different days. The day interval was 5 days. The length of the new leaf for each plant was measured nondestructively with an electronic digital caliper. Statistical analysis Three leaf-length growth equations are used in this study: 1. The monomecular equation: L1 = Lf1 + a1(1-exp (-b1t)) (12)

the nonlinear equation could be an adequate model. The parameters of the best-fit equation for leaf-length were then further analyzed by the ANOVA followed by Tukeys post-hoc LSD analysis. The two-way ANOVA was used to evaluate the effect of environmental conditions and fertilizer rate.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Leaf-length growth curves The leaf-length growth curves for Phalaenopsis LB9506 with three fertilizer rates under HTHL are shown in Figure 1. The growth of the leaf-length was nearly an S shape. -1 The leaf-length treated with 333 and 250 mgL fertilizer rates was similar. However, leaf-length was the smallest in the low fertilizer treatment. Typical leaf-length growth curves for LB9506 treated with 333 mgL-1 fertilizer rate under different environmental conditions are presented in Figure 2. HTLL seemed to enhance the growth of the leave. The growth with other conditions was similar and difficult to compare it visually. The leaf-length growth for LB9508 with three fertilizer rates under HTHL is shown in Figure 3. The leaf-length obtained with 167 mgL-1 fertilizer rates was lower than -1 that with the 333 and 250 mgL . The leaf-length for LB9506 differed significantly from that ofLB9508 (Figure 4.) The best culture condition was -1 HTHL and treated with 333 mgL fertilizer rate. The result showed different growth characteristics of the Phalaenopsis varieties. Under the same culture conditions, the leaves growth curves of two varieties were significantly different. The effect of environmental factors (temperature and light intensity) and management technique (fertilizer rate) on the growth of the leaf was not easy to observe visually. These data were further analyzed by the comparison of the nonlinear equation. Models for leaf- length growth characteristics

where Lf1 is the final leaf-length in cm, a1 and b1 are constants. 2. The logistic equation:

L2 =

L f2 1+ exp (-b 2 (t-x 0 ))

(13)

where Lf2 is the final leaf-length in cm, b2 and x0 are constants. 3. The Gompertz equation:

The leaf growth equations with typical data for LB9506 -1 under HTHL and treated with 333 mgL fertilizer rate are presented as follows: 1. The monomecular equation

L3 = a 3 exp (-exp(

t-c 3 )) b3

(14)

L1= 0.9539 + 20.7233 (1- exp(-0.0139t)) 2 R = 0.9968, s = 0.182 2. The logistic equation

(15)

where a3, b3 and c3 are constants. The association of leaf-length and culture days was examined by nonlinear regression analysis. Data were analyzed using Sigma Plot v.10.0 (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL. USA) to evaluate the fitting ability of these growth equations. Two quantitative criteria, coefficients of determination, R2 and standard error of the estimated value, s were adopted. The criterion to evaluate the adequateness of these equations was the residual plots. If the distribution of data points revealed a horizontal band centred on zero, it indicates that

L2 =

10.8127 1 + exp(-0.09964(t-19.8928))

R2 = 0.9993, s = 0.1181 3. The Gompertz equation

(16)

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LB9508 HTHL 12

10
HF-1 HF-2 HF-3 MF-1 MF-2 MF-3

8
Leaf length (cm)

LF-1 LF-2 LF-3

0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50

Days
Figure 1. Representative leaf-length growth curves for Phalaenopsis LB9506 with three fertilizer rates (high, medium, low; H, M, L, respectively) under high temperature and high light intensity (HTHL).

LB9506 HF treatments 12

10

8
Leaf length (cm)

HTHL-1 HTHL-2 HTLL-1 HTLL-2 MTHL-1 MTHL-2 MTLL-1 MTLL-2

0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50

Time, days

Figure 2. Representative leaf-length growth curves for Phalaenopsis LB9506 treated with 333 mgL-1 (high fertilizer, HF) and under different environmental conditions. See text for abbreviations.

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LB9606 12

10
HF-1

8
Leaf length ( cm)

HF-2 HF-3 MF-1

MF-2 MF-3 LF-1

LF-2 LF-3

0 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 Time, days

Figure 3. Representative leaf-length distribution of Phalaenopsis LB9508 with three fertilizer rates
under high temperature and high light intensity (HTHL).

LTLL 12

10

Leaf length (cm)

LB9506 HF-1 LB9506 HF-2 LB9506 HF-3 LB9508 HF-1 LB9508 HF-2 LB9508 HF-3

0 0 10 20 30 Time, days 40 50 60

Figure 4. The leaf-length growth curves for the two varieties treated with 333 mgL-1 and under low temperature and low light intensity (LTLL).

L3 = 12.2453 exp (-exp(

2

t-14.0358 )) 17.4066

(17)

R = 0.9997, s = 0.1065 All three equations had uniform distribution of data sets for residual plots. With the experimental design including

four environmental conditions and three fertilizer rates, with each treatment involving ten replicates, the total data sets were 120 samples. Some typical estimated parameters and evaluated criteria are listed in Tables 1, 2 and 3. Data analyzed by the logistic equation produced most 2 of the largest R and smallest s values; therefore, the

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Table 1. The estimated parameters and evaluation criteria of three leaf-length growth equations for Phalaenopsis LB9506 with two fertilizer rates under high temperature and high light intensity.

Fertilizer rate Equation 1. Monomecular Lf1 a1 b1 2 R s 2. Logistic Lf2 b2 x0 R2 s 3. Gompertz a3 b3 c3 R2 s

Sample 1 0.9539 20.7233 0.0139 0.9968 0.182 10.8127 0.099637 19.8928 0.9993 0.1181 12.2453 17.4066 14.0358 0.9997 0.1065

333 mgL-1 Sample 2 1.5412 29.3247 0.0085 0.9976 0.2051 11.0300 0.089786 17.4698 0.9993 0.1087 13.0289 20.2432 14.1870 0.9991 0.1299

Sample 3 1.6117 17.5494 0.0152 0.9986 0.1524 10.7243 0.088431 16.4427 0.9992 0.0812 12.1060 19.2304 12.1459 0.9993 0.0734

Sample 1 1.0324 18.3176 0.0142 0.9992 0.1117 9.9922 0.093727 17.7303 0.9994 0.1115 11.3121 18.3075 13.784 0.9986 0.0923

167 mgL-1 Sample 2 0.5799 17.9685 0.0146 0.9988 0.1585 9.3633 0.102824 18.3283 0.9945 0.1623 10.5645 16.7701 14.4912 0.9914 0.1315

Sample 3 0.7157 18.1958 0.0148 0.9992 0.1142 9.7513 0.10017 18.1140 0.9992 0.1160 10.9824 17.1022 14.1609 0.9934 0.0912

Table 2. The estimated parameters and evaluation criteria of three leaf-length growth equations for Phalaenopsis LB9506 with two fertilizer rates under high temperature and low light intensity.

Equation 1. Monomecular Lf1 a1 b1 R2 s 2. Logistic Lf2 b2 x0 R2 s 3. Gompertz a3 b3 c3 R2 s

Sample.1 1.4939 20.5526 0.0141 0.9968 0.1726 11.0911 0.09576 16.1538 0.9982 0.1310 12.6523 18.0926 12.3637 0.9980 0.1333

333 mgL-1 Sample.2 1.7938 16.3366 0.0196 0.9960 0.1868 11.3051 0.09558 14.4319 0.9966 0.1806 12.5669 17.2630 10.2185 0.9965 0.1795

Sample 3 1.7505 20.1313 0.0148 0.9975 0.1589 11.5669 0.092854 15.6569 0.9977 0.1515 13.1408 18.4433 11.7111 0.9984 0.1370

Sample 1 1.1900 19.3772 0.0143 0.9962 0.1952 11.2572 0.08762 18.9282 0.9972 0.1679 12.6248 19.3292 14.4148 0.9968 0.1785

167 mgL-1 Sample 2 1.3187 18.8036 0.0149 0.9968 0.1788 11.3850 0.08649 18.5420 0.9984 0.1244 12.7294 19.4474 13.9255 0.9980 0.1264

Sample 3 1.9629 17.8435 0.0152 0.9934 0.2484 11.7754 0.08031 17.0853 0.9975 0.1521 13.1543 20.7562 12.1929 0.9971 0.1637

logistic equation performed better than other two equations for quantitative criteria. The parameters of the logistic equation were adopted for further analysis.

ANOVA of the parameters of the logistic equation Two parameters of the logistic equation, Lf2 and b2 were

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Table 3. The estimated parameters and evaluation criteria of three leaf-length growth equations for Phalaenopsis LB9508 with three fertilizer rates under high temperature and high light intensity.

Fertilizer rate 333 mgL-1 Equation Sample 1 Sample 2 Sample 3 1. Monomecular Lf1 0.9501 1.0746 1.5430 a1 23.7514 29.0672 19.4124 b1 0.0119 0.0094 0.0133 2 R 0.9983 0.9983 0.9992 s 0.1131 0.1204 0.1130 2. Logistic Lf2 10.7428 11.1428 11.0831 b2 0.09858 0.09607 0.08246 x0 17.7855 18.3142 17.9621 R2 0.9978 0.9985 0.9987 s 0.1203 0.1149 0.1161 3. Gompertz a3 12.3514 13.0147 12.5762 b3 17.6503 18.6862 20.6243 c3 14.2412 14.9664 13.5274 R2 0.9972 0.9979 0.9952 s 0.1244 0.1151 0.1182

250 mgL-1 167 mgL-1 333 mgL-1 Sample 1 Sample 2 Sample 3 Sample 1 Sample 2 Sample 3 Sample 1 Sample 2 Sample 3 0.6176 27.1263 0.0104 0.9976 0.2305 10.9083 0.10236 19.3899 0.9972 0.2509 12.5640 17.4632 15.9116 0.9984 0.1927 0.6084 33.4389 0.0081 0.9980 0.1586 11.6691 0.09414 21.5852 0.9987 0.1571 13.5713 19.2476 17.9732 0.9975 0.1799 0.9189 21.7478 0.0129 0.9953 0.2410 11.4579 0.09379 20.1283 0.9993 0.129 12.9089 18.6442 15.8138 0.9985 0.1903 0.9170 22.5697 0.0122 0.9970 0.1721 10.8374 0.09447 18.8402 0.9968 0.1532 12.3939 18.4894 14.9942 0.9966 0.1853 0.1466 26.7864 0.0103 0.9916 0.1962 10.0333 0.11375 19.931 0.9941 0.1582 11.4840 15.8088 16.5779 0.9974 0.1322 1.1376 21.3827 0.0125 0.9971 0.1680 10.6050 0.09488 17.9644 0.9967 0.1778 12.1556 18.5995 14.1632 0.9961 0.1823 1.4939 20.5526 0.0141 0.9968 0.1726 11.0911 0.09576 16.1538 0.9982 0.1310 12.6523 18.0926 12.3637 0.9980 0.1333 1.7938 16.3366 0.0196 0.9960 0.1868 1.7505 20.1313 0.0148 0.9975 0.1589

11.3051 11.5669 0.09558 0.092854 14.4319 15.6569 0.9966 0.9977 0.1806 0.1515 12.5669 17.2630 10.2185 0.9965 0.1795 13.1408 18.4433 11.7111 0.9984 0.1370

adopted to evaluate the factors affecting leave growth characteristics. The biological meaning of Lf2, termed Ymax hereafter, is the growth limitation or the maximal of the leaf-length. The b2 value represents the growth rates of leaf-length. Variety LB9506 The effect of environmental conditions and fertilizer rates on the parameters of the logistic equation for LB9506 is showed in Figure 5. From the two-way ANOVA test, the maximal leaf-length, Ymax significantly differed between the fertilizer rate (F(2, 108) = 18.1606, P0.0001),

environmental conditions (F(3, 108) = 66.4215, P0.0001) and by the interaction of fertilizer rates and environmental conditions (F(6, 108) = 4.666, P=0.0003). Therefore, fertilizer rate, environmental conditions and their interaction all had a significant effect on the leaf-length growth of LB9506 (Figure 5a). The Tukeys post-hoc LSD analysis revealed the Ymax with 167 mgL-1 fertilizer rate significantly lower than that with the other two treatments, with -1 no significant effect with 333 and 250 mgL fertilizer rates on the leaf growth. The Tukeys post-hoc LSD test revealed the Ymax highest with the HTHL and HTLL conditions. The high temperature factor influenced the

maximal length of leaves. Analysis of leaf-length growth rate, b2 revealed a significant effect of environmental conditions (F(3, 108) = 2.9461, P=0.036) but not fertilizer rate (F(2, 108) = 1.5619, P=0.2144) or interaction of fertilizer rate and environmental conditions (F(6, 108) = 1.4937, P=0.1837) (Figure 5b). Further analysis by the Tukeys test revealed three different groups of b2 values, for HTHL, HTLL and LTHL, LTLL. The growth rate was largest with HTHL. Variety LB9508 The effect of environmental conditions and

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Afr. J. Agric. Res.

14 13 12
HTHL

Ymax

11 10 9 8 140 160 180 200 220 240 260 280 300 320 340 360

HTLL LTHL LTLL

Fertilizing rates

(a)
0.11 0.1 0.09

Growing rate

HTHL

0.08 0.07 0.06 0.05 0.04 140 160 180 200 220 240 260 280 300 320 340 360

HTLL LTHL LTLL

Fertilizing rates

(b)
Figure 5. The effect of environmental conditions and fertilizing rates on the parameter of the logistic equation for LB9506.

fertilizer rates on the parameters of the logistic equation for LB9508 is shown in Figure 6. The maximal leaf-length, Ymax for LB9508 differed by fertilizer rates (F(2, 108) = 5.97, P=0.0035) and the environmental conditions (F(3, 108) = 56.07, F0.0001). However, the interaction of both factors was not significant (F(6, 108) = 0.6993, P=0.6508) (Figure 6a). The Tukeys test revealed the Ymax with the lowest -1 fertilizer rate, 167 mgL , significantly lower than with other two treatments, with no significant difference between 333 and 250 mgL-1 fertilizer rates. The Tukeys test also revealed a significant difference among the four environmental conditions. The Ymax for LTHL was larger than for the other conditions. Analysis of leaf-length growth rate, b2 values revealed no significant difference between the fertilizer rates (F(2, 108) =1.0981, P=0.3372), environmental conditions (F(3,108) = 0.7344, P=0.5337) or their interaction (F(6,

108) = 1.2991, P=0.2638). The leaf-length growth rate for LB9608 was similar with fertilizer rates from 167 to 333 mgL-1, day temperature from 23 and 30 and light intensity from C, 150 to 280 mol m-2s-1. However, the maximal leaf-length for this variety was affected by day temperature and light intensity. By combination of best growth conditions and fertilizer dosage, 45 days could be reduced to unfold one leaf. This data could be more meaningful and realistic to orchid growers.

DISCUSSION Effect of day temperature and light intensity Lopez and Runkle (2003) reported on influence of

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15 14 13
HTHL

Ymax

12 11 10 9 140 160 180 200 220 240 260 280 300 320 340 360

HTLL LTHL LTLL

Fertilizing rates

(a)
0.11 0.1 0.09

Growing rate

0.08 0.07 0.06 0.05 0.04 140 160 180 200 220 240 260 280 300 320 340 360

HTHL HTLL LTHL LTLL

Fertilizing rates

(b)
Figure 6. The effect of environmental conditions and fertilizing rates on the parameters of the logistic equation for LB9508.

temperature on leaf growth in Zygopetalum Redvale Fire Kiss by averaging the data points in their growth curves for the 20 plants. However, the effect of the variation for each plant at different culture days could not be estimated statistically. In this study, the growth data for leaf-length for each plant was analyzed using nonlinear regression technique. Each plant had a numeric value for each parameter, with the best-fit equation, the logistic equation. These parameters were further analyzed to observe the significant effect of influencing factors. Environmental conditions had a significant effect on the maximal leaf-length (Ymax) for the two varieties. For LB9606 but not LB9608, the growth rate (b2) was affected significantly by environmental conditions. Other researchers have reported on the effect of temperature and light intensity on the growth of orchids. Kubota and Yoneda (1990) found that Phalaenopsis grew better under 30 than 20 Kaziwara et al. (1992) found that C C.

Phalaenopsis had a better growth rate under day and night temperatures of 30/25C than 25/20 Ota et al. C. (1991) reported an optimal day and night temperature of 25/15 than at 25/20 and 20/20 C C. Differences in recommended light intensity were found. The point of light saturation for Watabousbi was 130 (Ota et al., 1991) and 180 mol m-2 s-1 for L and 70 at 20 (Lootens and Heursel, 1998). The adequate light C level was found to range from 150 to 330 mol m-2 s-1 (Konow and Wang, 2001). These results support the finding of good effects with low light, 150-210 mol m-2 s-1. The effect of environment conditions on the growth characteristics at different varieties was inconsistent. Effect of fertilizer rate The results of this study revealed that the fertilizer rate

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had a significant effect on maximal leaf-length for two varieties. However, the growth rates were not significantly different with the different fertilizer treatments. Wang and Gregg (1994) found that fertilizer level had a significant effect on stalk diameter, stalk length and leaf production of Phalaenopsis. In a study of the effects of six fertilizers on vegetative growth of Phalaenopsis, Wang (1996) found that high fertilizer concentrations produced more and longer leaves and greater total leaf areas. Orchids grown in moss sphagnum showed wider and longer top leaves with increased potassium concentration (Wang, 2007). These results agree with the results of this study that high fertilized rate increased the maximal leaf-length of two varieties. The effect of the environment on the growing rate needs to be studied for more varieties to understand the mechanism of temperature, light and fertilizer on the leaf growth on Phalaenopsis. The open-system chamber could be adopted to reduce the experimental space (Alterio et al., 2006). Further study of the growth equation The effect of environmental conditions and fertilizer rates on the growth characteristics of orchids was previously reported (Anthura, 2004, 2005; Lopez and Runkle, 2003; Bichsel et al., 2008). The effect of temperature and nitrogen level on vegetative and reproductive phase in Cymbidium orchids were discussed by Powell et al. (1988). Pan et al. (1997) reviewed the physiology of C. sinense including the photosynthesis, mineral nutrition, growth and development and suggested the detailed study of the orchids. The growth characteristic curves of the orchids, such as leaf-length, leaf area, bulb length and diameter, stalk length in different conditions could be measured and analyzed by using an adequate nonlinear growth equation. The parameters then were studied to evaluate the significant factors affecting the growth characteristics. This analysis could provide a powerful method to quantify the influencing factors. Conclusions The leaf-length growth patterns of two Phalaenopsis varieties, the red-flower Phalaenopsis clones LB9506 and LB9508 were measured under different environmental conditions; day temperature, light intensity, and fertilizer rates. Three nonlinear growth equations for evaluating leaf-length data of two varieties were studied and the parameters of the best-fit equation for biological interpretation were further analyzed. From the results of this study, an adequate growth equation is useful for evaluating factors affecting plants growth characteristics. The measurement data of the leaflength at different culture days in different conditions were analyzed by growth equations. The parameters of the

fitting growth equation could by further studied using the ANOVA. With this method, the factors affecting the growth characteristics of orchid leaves were evaluated quantitatively and the variation in each plant by growth characteristics could be explained statistically. Other indexes of the plant, such as stem length and dry or fresh weight could also be analyzed by this method. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The authors wish to thank the National Science Council of the Republic of China for financially supporting this research under Contract No NSC-95-2313-B-005-019.

REFERENCES Alterio G, Giorio P, Sorrentino G (2006). Open-system chamber for measurements gas exchanges at plant level. Environ. Sci. Technol. 40:1950-1955. Anthura BY (2004). Cultivation Guidelines Phalaenopsis Pot Plant. http://www.anthura.nl/uploads/downloads/manuals/en/Manual%20 Phalaenopsis%20pot%20plants%20ENG.pdf. The Netherlands. Anthura BY (2005). Cultivation Guide Phalaenopsis Knowledge for Professionals. The Netherlands. Barker D, Ferraro F, Nave R, Sulc R, Lopes F, Albrecht K (2010). Analysis of herbage mass and herbage accumulation rate using Gompertz equations. Agron J. 102:849-857. Bichsel R, Starman Y, Wang Y (2008). Nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium requirements for optimizing growth and flowering of the nobile Dendrobium as a potted orchid. Hortscience 43:328-332. de Visser C, van den Berg W (1998). A method to calculate the size distribution of onions and its use in an onion growth model. Scientia Hort. 71:129-143. Dwyer L, Stewart D (1986). Leaf area development in field grown maize. Agro J. 78:334-343. Godoy C, Monterubbianesi G., Tognetti T (2008). Analysis of high bush blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum L.) fruit growth with exponential mixed models. Scientia Hort. 115:368-376. Joly R, Hann D (1989). An empirical model for leaf expansion in Cacao in relation to plant water deficit. Ann. Bot. 64:1-8. Karadavut U, Kokten K, Kavurmaci Z (2010b.) Comparison of relative growth rates in silage corn cultivars. Asian Anim. Vet. Adv. 5:223-228. Karadavut U, Palta C, Kokten K, Bakoglu A (2010a). Comparative study on some non-linear growth models for describing leaf growth of maize. Int. J. Agric. Biol. 12:227-230. Kaziwara S, Aoyama M., Yoshida T (1992). Effects of temperature and day length on the growth of Phalaenopsis plants. J. Japan Soc. Hort. Sci. 61:833. Khamis A, Zuhaimy I, Khalid H, Ahmad T (2005). Non-linear growth models for modeling oil Palm yield growth. J. Math. Stat. 1:225-233. Konow EA, Wang Y (2001). Irradiance levels affect in vitro and greenhouse growth, flowering, and photosynthetic behavior of a hybrid Phalaenopsis orchid. J. Amer. Soc. Hort. Sci. 126:531-536. Kubota S, Yoneda K (1990). Effects of temperature and fertilizer on growth and nutrient absorption of Phalaenopsis. J. Japan Soc. Hort. Sci. 59:554-555. Lootens P, Heursel J (1998). Irradiance, temperature, and carbon dioxide enrichment affect photosynthesis in Phalaenopsis Hybrids. Hortscience 33:1183-1185. Lopez R, Runkle E (2004). The effect of temperature on leaf and flower development and flower longevity of Zygopetalum RedvaleFire Kiss Orchid. Hortscience 39:1630-1634. Lopez R, Runkle E, Heins R, Whitman C (2003). Temperature and photoperiodic effects on growth and flowering of Zygopetalum Redvale Fire Kiss orchids. Acta Hort. 624:155-162 Ota K, Morioka K, Yamamoto Y (1991). Effects of leaf age, in-

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florescence, temperature, light intensity, and moisture conditions on CAM photosynthesis in Phalaenopsis. J. Jan. Soc. Hort. Sci. 60:125132. Pan R, Te Q, Hew C (1997). Physiology of Cymbidium sinense: a review. Scientia Hort. 70:123-129 Power C, Caldwell K, Littler R, Warrington I (1988). Effect of temperature regime and nitrogen fertilizer level on vegetative and reproductive bud development in Cymbidium orchids. J. Am. Soc. Hort. Sci., 113, 552-556. Thornley J, Johnson I (1990). Plant and Crop Modelling: A Mathematical Approach to Plant and Crop Physiology. Clarendon Press Oxford, New York. Wang Y (1996). Effects of six fertilizers on vegetative growth and flowering of Phalaenopsis orchids. Scientia Horti. 65:191-197. Wang Y (2007). Potassium nutrition affects Phalaenopsis growth and flowering. Hortscience 42:1563-1567.

Wang Y, Gregg L (1994). Medium and fertilizer affect the performance of Phalaenopsis orchids during two flowering cycles. Hortscience 29:269-271. Willcutts J, Overman A, Hochmuth G, Cantiffe D, Soundy P (1998). A comparison of three mathematical models of response to applied nitrogen: A case study using lettuce. Hortscience 33:833-836.

African Journal of Agricultural Research Vol. 7(28), pp. 4056-4060, 24 July, 2012 Available online at http://www.academicjournals.org/AJAR DOI: 10.5897/AJAR11.1123 ISSN 1991-637X 2012 Academic Journals

Full Length Research Paper

Storage pests of maize and their status in Jimma Zone, Ethiopia

Waktole Sori1* and Amsalu Ayana2
1

Jimma University College of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, P. O. Box 307, Jimma, Ethiopia. 2 Oromia Agricultural Research Institute, P. O. Box, 81265, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Accepted 9 July, 2012

An experiment was conducted in 2004 to assess the major pests associated with stored maize, the damage and losses they cause in Jimma Zone, Oromia Regional State. Fifty farm stores were assessed. Seventeen arthropods, thirteen Coleopterans, three Lepidopterans and one Acarina were documented from the samples collected. Maize weevil (Sitophilus zeamais) followed by grain moth (Sitotroga cereallela), rice weevil (Sitophilus oryzae) and flour beetle (Tribolium confusum) were the major pests of stored maize in the study area. A major finding of the experiment was that a storage pests particularly, S. zeamais is the dominant and most important pest of maize in Jimma Zone. This pest was found in abundance in all areas assessed damaging maize grain. Farmers want to store maize grain for food security, seed, and to sell when the prices are high enough. However, this pest is a major challenge. Quantitative average grain damage of 64.50% and losses of 41 to 80% are common in the store within three to six months after storage. It is recommended that an integrated weevil management method should be implemented to prevent the high quantitative and qualitative grain losses incurred so as to contribute towards family food security in Jimma Zone. Key words: Storage pests, pest status, Sitophilus zeamais, grain damage, grain loss. INTRODUCTION In Ethiopia, maize (Zea mays L.) is one of the major cereal crops grown for its food and feed values. It is one of the most important staple food and cash crops providing calories for the consumers and income for the traders. The production and productivity of maize has increased since the development of high yielding hybrid varieties by the Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research (Bako Agricultural Research Center). Thus, in the Jimma area, maize ranks first in production and productivity since the release of these hybrid varieties (CSA, 2007). Large areas of the zone are covered by maize crop and the area under production is still increasing if not because of seed constraint. Yet, these hybrid varieties are reported to be highly susceptible to insect pest attacks both in the field and storage (Girma et al., 2008). Hence, farmers are not as such the beneficiaries of this increased production and productivity potential of new varieties. Traditionally, maize grain is stored by Ethiopian farmers, both in and outdoors for consumption and sell in the later months of the year depending on the quantity produced per household. The stored maize is attacked and damaged by several pests that lead to quality deterioration forcing farmers to sell at reduced prices and below the production cost. Insects are most often considered as the principal cause of maize grain losses (Adams and Schulter, 1978; Abraham, 1991, 1995, 1997; Ali et al., 2007). The most important insect pests that cause damage to maize in the field and storage are lepidopterous stalk borers and coleopterous weevils, respectively (Emana and Tsedeke, 1999). More than 37 species of arthropod pests are associated with maize grain in storage (Abraham, 1997). Most of the maize grain harvested was stored on the farm

*Corresponding author. E-mail: waktoletufa@yahoo.com. Tel: +251917804341. Fax: +251471110934

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where postharvest pest management practices are inadequate (Dubale, 2011) leading to huge amounts of maize grain losses to pests of stored grain. The global picture of losses of grain and pulse crops after harvest is estimated to be 10% mostly due to insect pests and this is very serious in developing countries (Boxall et al., 2002). The FAO (1985) estimated that storage pests and lack of proper storage methods cause losses of about 200 million tons of grains each year. The annual grain losses in Ethiopia range between 2 and 30% (Firidissa, 1999). Information on storage pests of maize that cause damage and weight losses in Jimma Zone of Oromia regional state is not available. This experiment was carried out to assess the major insect pests associated with stored maize, the damage and loss caused by these insect pests in this area.
MATERIALS AND METHODS Description of the study area and year The study was carried out in Jimma Zone of Oromia Regional State located at about 300 to 400 km south west of Addis Ababa. This zone lies between latitudes 7 15 N and 8 45 S, and longitudes 36 00 E and 3740 E. The elevation of the zone ranges from 880 to 3360 m. a. s. l. The area experienced an annual average rainfall of 1000 mm for 8 to 10 months (Haile and Tolemariam, 2008). The main rainy season extends from May to September and the small rainy season takes place from February to April. The temperature of the zone varies between 8 to 28 with an annual average of 20 C C. It has a sub-humid, warm to hot climate. The study was conducted in Yebu, Asendabo, Seka, Dedo and Kersa, the major maize growing areas of Jimma zone. Sample collection procedures The survey areas were generally favorable for storage pest infestations owing to its environmental conditions. The survey was conducted when maize grain was in storage for three to six months and infestation and grain damage levels were most likely to be serious. Survey sites (woredas) were selected based on their maize production status (major maize producing areas) of the zone. A total of 50 farm stores from all woredas were visited and samples collected. Selection of sites, storage containers and samples were made in such a way that they are the representative of the woreda at random. When a selected site or storage did not have maize the next site or storage was taken as a substitute. From each container, three samples, each consisting of 100 g of maize grain seeds were taken. The samples were obtained from as many different parts of the various storage facilities as possible (top, sides, centre, and bottom). Each sample was put in a paper bag and labeled with the necessary information. The samples obtained from the same storage were mixed together and placed in a cloth bag for further inspection in laboratory as per the methods used by Firidissa (1999). Inspection of the samples was made within two weeks of collection in the JUCAVM laboratory. Laboratory study In the laboratory, at Jimma College of Agriculture, each sample of maize grain was sieved over a 2 mm mesh sieve (Abraham, 1995)

and all fractions were examined. Insects were removed, counted and grouped according to order, family, and were preserved dry as pinned collections or in 75% ethanol for identification. Identification was made using combination of insect identification keys, pictures, comparison with already identified specimens in laboratory, and descriptions. Sampled grains were separated into damaged and undamaged, weighed, numbers counted and percentage weight losses determined using the formula of Adams and Schulter (1978) as follows: % weight loss = ((Und - DNu) /U (Nd + Nu) 100 Where U is weight of undamaged grain, Nd is number of damaged grain, D is weight of damaged grain, and Nu is number of undamaged grain. Insect damage was assessed by the count method. One hundred seeds were randomly taken from each maize sample and the number of insect damaged and un-damaged grains was observed using a hand lens for the presence of hole or burrow. The percentage of insect damaged seed was then calculated (Fekadu et al., 2000; Wambugu et al., 2009) as follows:
Number of insect damaged grain Insect damaged grain (%) = Total number of grain 100

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Insect pests recorded, their status and abundance All stores tested in this study were infested with insect pests. List of the major pests, their status and abundance are given in Tables 1 and 2. Seventeen arthropod species were recorded on maize grain in Jimma zone. Twelve species of Coleoptera (two species in Curculionidae, Cucujidae, Bostrichidae each, four species in Tenebrionidae, one species in Buruchidae and Silvanidae each), four species of Lepidoptera (three species in Pyralidae and one in Gelechiidae) and one species of Acaridae in the Acarina were identified. Among the different arthropods, the dominant species in all area surveyed was maize weevil (Sitophilus zeamais) followed by Angoumois grain moth (Sitotroga cereallela), rice weevil (S. oryzae) and flour beetle (Tribolium confusum) (Table 2). These pests were widespread, abundant and caused damage and loss to maize grain (Table 3). Abraham (1997) collected 37 species of arthropods associated with stored maize grain seeds in western part of Ethiopia, Bako area. He further stated that the most important arthropods were maize weevil, grain moth and flour beetle. However, Emana (1993) reported S. cereallela followed by S. zeamais, as the two most important pests of stored maize in Southern Ethiopia. This may be because of the similarity of the environmental conditions, which are warm and humid, in the Jimma and Bako areas and differences in the southern part where the environment is cooler. There was no new record of arthropods associated with maize from previous studies (McFarlane, 1969; Walker and Boxall, 1974; Abraham, 1991, 1997; Firdissa, 1999) in this area probably because the record was made on most

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Table 1. Identity list of insect pests associated with stored maize and their status in Jimma zone of Oromia regional state, Ethiopia.

Order Coleoptera

Family Curculionidae Curculionidae Cucujidae Cucujidae Bostrichidae Bostrichidae Tenebrionidae Tenebrionidae Tenebrionidae Tenebrionidae Buruchidae Silvanidae Pyralidae Pyralidae Pyralidae Gelechiidae Acaridae

Common name Rice weevil Maize weevil Flat grain beetle Red rust grain beetle Lesser grain borer Larger grain borer Flour beetle Red rust flour beetle Confused flour beetle Yellow mealworm beetle Mexican bean weevil Saw toothed grain beetle Tropical warehouse moth Rice moth Indian meal moth Angoumois grain moth Flour mite

Specific name Sitophilus oryzae (L.) S. zeamais Motschulsky Cryptolestes pusillus (Schonherr) Cryptolestes ferrugineus (Stephens) Rhyzopertha dominica (Fabricius) Prostephanus truncates (Horn) Tribolium sp. T. castaneum (Herbst) T. confusum Jacquelin du Val Tenebrio molitor L. Zabrotes subfaciatus (Boheman) Oryzaephilus surinamensis (L.) Ephestia cautella (Walker) Corcra cephalonica (Stainton) Plodia interpunctella (Hubner) Sitotroga cerealella (Olivier) Acarus siro

Status Major Major Intermediate Minor Intermediate Minor Intermediate Intermediate Major Minor intermediate Minor Intermediate Intermediate Intermediate Major Minor

Lepidoptera

Acarina

Table 2. Mean number of the most important insect pests of maize recorded from maize grain samples in Jimma Zone of Oromia Regional State.

Insect pests Common name Specific name Maize weevil S. zeamais Grain moth S. cerealella Rice weevil S. oryzae Confused flour beetle T. confusum

Number of stores with the pest 50 45 30 20

Mean number per 100 g of seed (mean SD) 69.98 4.73 11.26 1.13 9.09 2.00 5.25 0.51

dominant species alone suggesting the need for further study. There were other pests and also beneficial hymenopterans of concern yet not preserved and identified in the current study. These insects and noninsect pests appeared to be less important, less abundant and difficult to collect and thus, were not recorded because they appear to be of no importance as direct pests. They were only collected from few sites and as such, further investigations need to be conducted. Most of the insect pests species recorded and identified were those which happen to be of great challenge to maize storage attacking the seed and forcing farmers to sell their produce at very low price immediately after harvest. In this study S. zeamais was the most common and destructive of all the insect pests recorded (Table 2). Most of the insects mentioned earlier were found

attacking maize. S. zeamais was recorded in abundance from all the samples at all sites. Grain damage and weight loss There was a significant grain damage and weight loss caused by the pests (Table 3). Mean percentage grain damage and weight losses caused by the pests under traditional farmers storage practices were 64.50 and 58.85%, respectively. The maximum damage and weight loss was caused by S. zeamais. Grain damage ranged from 54 to 75% between three to six months of storage whereas the weight loss varied from 41 to 80%. More of the number of weevils associated with stored grains at each site was associated with more number of grain

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Table 3. Percentage grain damage and weight losses of stored maize grain at different site (Jimma Zone) three to six months after storage (n = 50).

Sites 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Mean SEM Range

No. of stores 4 2 3 4 4 2 2 2 4 3 3 2 4 2 1 1 2 3 1 1 -

Grain damage 73.25 1.48 64.50 0.50 54.67 0.47 63.75 0.83 72.75 1.48 55.50 0.50 61.50 0.50 57.50 0.50 72.00 1.58 68.33 1.24 56.00 0.82 75.00 1.00 56.50 1.12 67.50 0.50 72.00 0.00 54.00 0.00 72.50 0.50 63.00 0.82 70.00 0.00 60.00 0.00 64.50 7.04 54 to 75

Weight loss 69.33 50.67 45.33 57.33 70.67 45.67 56.67 48.33 65.33 56.67 51.67 79.33 41.67 55.33 77.67 45.33 76.00 49.67 58.67 75.67 58.85 11.86 41 to 80

damage and weight losses. As the length of storage period increased, the damage and losses also increased. The highest grain damage and weight losses at all location may be due to the conduciveness of the environmental condition for the pests. Schmutterer (1971) reported the severity of S. zeamais on both maize and sorghum in storage and showed a loss estimate of up to 80% in maize stored in unprotected silos in Bako area. The storage loss was found to be 80% in Cameroon after six to eight months of storage (Nukenine et al., 2002). Kerstin et al. (2010) reported 10 to 12% loss of maize stored in traditional storage containers due to insect pests. Loss of about 18% was also reported in other African countries by the same author for maize grain stored in polypropylene sacks for a period of six months storage. Per household, average actual loss was reported to be about 12% of the average total grain produce (Abebe and Bekele, 2006). Farmers are managing insect pests of importance such as weevils by using chemicals, botanicals, sanitation, and mechanical tools. Most of the species recorded in the present study are cosmopolitan pests in stored grains globally and deserve appropriate management tool development and use. Farmers in the study area were using different pest management methods such as application of insecticides, botanicals, ashes, salt, smoke, sanitation, and mixing of maize seeds with other grains.

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS Maize is a major staple food and feed source for millions of people of Ethiopia and Jimma zone alike. Seventeen insect pests were associated with stored maize in the area. Maize weevil followed by grain moth, rice weevil and flour beetle was the most important. Significant grain damage (average of 64.50%) associated with losses of up to 80% was caused by the pests within three to six months of storage. Further study that covers all growing area to evaluate the economic importance of their infestation for devising bio-intensive integrated pest management strategies were needed. Nationwide surveys should also be carried out to determine the species of pests associated with stored produce in Ethiopia in general and with stored maize in particular. Further identification using molecular techniques needed. In addition, losses caused by the major pest species in the different types of stored produce under different management practices should be determined. Novel management practices should be conducted and recommended for the area. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The Jimma College of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine (JUCAVM, previously the Jimma College of

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Agriculture) and IFS (International Foundation for Sciences) are acknowledged for their financial support.
REFERENCES Abebe HG, Bekele H (2006). Farmers' post-harvest grain management choices under liquidity constraints and impending risks: Implications for achieving food security objectives in Ethiopia. Poster Presented at International Association of Agric. Economists Conference, Gold Coast, Australia, August 12-18, 2006 annual meeting, Queensland, Australia. Abraham T (1991). The biology, significance and control of the maize weevil, Sitophilus zeamais Motsch. (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) on stored maize, MSc.Thesis, Alemaya University of Agriculture, Alemaya, Ethiopia. Abraham T (1995). Insects and other arthropods recorded from stored maize in western Ethiopia. ACSL 4(3):339-343. Abraham T (1997). Arthropods associated with stored maize and farmers management practices in the Bako area, western Ethiopia. PMJE 1 (1-2). Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Adams JM, Schulter GM (1978). Losses Caused by Insects, Mites and Micro-organisms. In: Postharvest Grain Loss Assessment Methods. pp. 83-95. Harris K.L. and Lindblad C.G. (eds), New York, American Association of Cereal Chemists. Ali RH, Mahdi MR, Ali B, Hojjatollah S (2007). Mycoflora of maize harvested from Iran and imported maize. PJBS 10(24):4432-4437. Boxall RA, Brice JR, Taylor SJ, Bancroft RD (2002). Technology and management of storage. In: Golob, P., Farrell G, Orchard JE (eds), Crop post-harvest: Sci. Technol. Principles and Practices. Natural Resource Institute, Univ. Greenwich 1:141-232. CSA (Central Statistical Agency) (2007). Agricultural Sample Survey Report on Area and Production of Crops (Private Peasant Holding, Meher Season). Statistical Bulletin, No. 388, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Dubale B (2011). Management Practices and Quality of Maize Stored in Traditional Storage Containers: Gombisa and Sacks in Selected Districts Of Jimma, MSc. Thesis, Aromaya Univ. Agric. Aromaya, Ethiopia. Emana G (1993). Studies on the distribution and control of Angoumois grain moth, Sitotroga cerealella (Oliver) (Lepidoptera: Gelchidae) in Sidama Administrative Region. MSc. Thesis, Alemaya Univ. Agric. Alemaya, Ethiopia.

Emana G, Tsedeke A (1999). Management of Maize Stem Borer using Sowing Date at Arsi-Negele, PMJE 3(1&2):47-51. FAO (1985). Prevention of post harvest food losses: A training manual, FAO, Training Series No. 11, Rome, Italy. Fekadu L, Geremew B, Waktola W (2000). Quality of grain sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench) stored in traditional underground pits: Case studies in two agro-climatic zones in Hararghe, Ethiopia. JFST 37(3):238-244. Firdissa E (1999). Insect pests of Farm-stored Sorghum in the Bako Area. PMJE 3 (1&2):53-60. Girma D, Tadele T. Abraham T (2008). Importance of husk covering on field infestation of maize by Sitophilus zeamais Motsch (Coleoptera:Curculionidea) at Bako, Western Ethiopia, AJB 7(20):3777-3782. Haile A, Tolemariam T (2008). The feed values of indigenous multipurpose trees for sheep in Ethiopia: The case of Vernonia amygdalina, Buddleja polystachya and Maesa lanceolata. Livestock Res. Rural Development. Volume 20, Article No. 45. Retrieved April 12, 2011, from http://www.lrrd.org/lrrd20/3/hail20045.htm. Kerstin HKE, Ognakossan AK, Tonou Y, Lamboni KE Adabe, Coulibaly O (2010). Maize Stored Pests Control by PICS-Bags: Technological and Economic Evaluation. 5th World Cowpea Conference in Saly, Senegal, 27 September -1 October 2010. McFarlane JA (1969). A study of storage losses and allied problems in Ethiopia. ODNRI (TPS) report R40: Supplementary accounts of investigations. 67 pp + xii. Nukenine EN, Monglo B, Awasom I, Tchuenguen FFN, Ngassoum MB (2002). Farmers Perception on some aspects of maize production and Infestation level of stored maize by Sitophilus zeamais in the Ngaoundere region of Cameroon. CJBBS 12:18-30. Schmutterer H (1971). Contribution to the knowledge of the crop pest fauna in Ethiopia. JAE 67:371-389. Wambugu PW, Mathenge EO, Auma, Havan R (2009). Efficacy of traditional maize (Zea mays L.) seed storage methods in western Kenya. AJFAND 9(4):1110-1128. Walker DJ, Boxall RA (1974). An annotated list of the insects associated with stored products in Ethiopia, including notes on mites found in Harar province. E. Afr. Agric. For. J. 39:330-333.

African Journal of Agricultural Research Vol. 7(28), pp. 4061-4065, 24 July, 2012 Available online at http://www.academicjournals.org/AJAR DOI: 10.5897/AJAR11.1985 ISSN 1991-637X 2012 Academic Journals

Full Length Research Paper

Lengthweight relationship and condition of five marine fish species collected by shrimp trawls in Bushehr coastal waters, Northern Persian Gulf
Moslem Daliri1*, Seyed Yousef Paighambari1, Mohammad Javad Shabani2 and Reza Davoodi3
1

Fisheries Department, Gorgan University of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, Iran. 2 Iran Shrimp Research Centre. Bushehr, Iran. 3 Agricultural and Natural Resources College, Persian Gulf University. Bushehr, Iran.
Accepted 15 June, 2012

The length-weight relationships (LWR) and relative condition factor were calculated for five marine fish species collected by shrimp trawls from Iranian waters of the Persian Gulf. Sampling was carried out with bottom trawl net (with 40 and 50 mm mesh size (stretched length) in the cod-end and panel) during June to August 2011. Trawling took place at depths ranging from 7 to 30 m. The values of the exponent b varied between 2.7300 (Sillago sihama) and 3.0156 (Netuma thalassinus). Relative condition factor (Krel) did not differ significantly (analysis of variance (ANOVA) test, P > 0.05) and ranged from 0.98 0.14 (Pelates quadrilineatus) to 1.03 0.17 (N. thalassinus). Key words: Length-weight relationship, marine fish, condition factor, Persian Gulf. INTRODUCTION Length-weight relationships are very important in fisheries management for comparison of growth studies (Garcia et al., 1998; Haimovici and Velasco, 2000; Moutopoulos and Stergiou, 2002; Hossain et al., 2006). Data on length-weight is applied to estimate the weight of an individual of given length or total weight from lengthfrequency distribution (Forese, 1998; Koutrakis and Tsikliras, 2003). Also, data of length-weight and age can give knowledge on the stock composition, length at maturity, lifetime, mortality, growth, and production (Beyer, 1987; Bolger and Connoly, 1989; Fifioye and Oluajo, 2006). The condition factor also expresses the physical and environmental conditions of fish (Le Cren, 1951). It is used for comparing the condition, fatness, or well-being of sh (Tesch, 1968). In this study, length-weight relationships and relative condition factor (Krel) of Netuma thalassinus (Ruppel, 1837), Parastromateus niger (Bloch, 1795), Sillago sihama (Forsskal, 1775), Pelates quadrilineatus (Bloch, 1790), and Nematolosa nasus (Bloch, 1795) are presented (this species are abundant in the Persian Gulf) (Figure 2). Results of this study for most species (except N. nasus) are reported for the first time from the Persian Gulf waters (Froese and Pauly, 2011).
MATERIALS AND METHODS Study area The Persian Gulf is a subtropical sea which is separated from the Gulf of Oman by the Strait of Hormuz (Figure 1). The surface area of the Persian Gulf is approximately 2.39 105 km2, and the average depth and volume of the Gulf is 36 m and 8.63 103 km3, respectively (Reynolds, 1993). The study area included Bushehr coastal waters which extends from 50 6' to 52 58' E and 27 14' to 30 16' N, and covers the fishing grounds of shrimp. Trawling was carried out between depths of 7 to 30 m during June to August 2011 (shrimp fishing season).

Data collection Sampling was conducted by R/V SHANAK (Outrigger bottom trawler equipped with two bottom trawl nets with 40 and 50 mm mesh size (stretched mesh) in the cod-end and body net,

*Corresponding author. E-mail: moslem.daliri@yahoo.com.

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Figure 1. Map of Persian Gulf showing the study area and 44 sampling sites.

Figure 2. Mean relative condition factor ( SD) of 5 fish species in Bushehr coastal waters (Northern Persian Gulf) during June to August, 2011.

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Table 1. The Length characteristics and parameters of the length-weight relationships of five marine fish species in Bushehr coastal waters (Northern Persian Gulf).

Family/Species Ariidae/N. thalassinus Carangidae/P. niger Sillaginidae/S. sihama Teraponidae/P. quadrilineatus Clupeidae/N. nasus

Length FL FL TL TL FL

N 67 73 123 98 207

Length characteristic Min. Max. Mean SD 18.0 64.0 37.48 7.83 13.5 43.0 25.95 7.20 15.0 23.5 17.86 2.24 14.0 29.5 19.17 4.01 12.5 21.5 17.24 2.20

a 0.0175 0.0342 0.0176 0.0208 0.0218

Parameter of the relationship b 95% CL(b) 3.0156 2.9356 - 3.0956 2.9477 2.7677 - 3.1277 2.7300 2.4300 - 3.0300 2.6165 2.5255 - 2.7065 2.5267 2.4807 - 2.5728

r2 0.92 0.93 0.85 0.96 0.95

N: number of individuals, FL: fork length, TL: total length, Min. and Max.: minimum and maximum length (cm), SD: standard deviation.

respectively). Sub-samples were collected after each haul and data on length (total length or fork length, cm) and body weight (g) were recorded for each species. The length and weight of fishes were measured to the nearest value (0.1 mm or g) using measuring board and a digital scale, respectively. Data analysis For each species, the parameters a and b of the lengthweight relationship was obtained using the linear regression based on logarithmic transformation of the formula (Zar, 1984): W= a Lb where W is the body weight (g) and L is the total length or fork length (cm). The 95% confidence limits (CL) of parameters b were calculated. To compare b value obtained in the linear regression with isometric value (Sokal and Rohlf, 1987) ttest was also used: 95% CL = b t 0.05, n-2 .Sb where N is the number of specimens.

standard error of the slope (b). These ttests allowed the classification of lengthweight relationships in isometric (b = 3), negative allometric (b < 3) and positive allometric (b > 3). For each individual, relative condition factor (Krel) was computed by this equation:

parameters can be securely utilized in the pointed out length range (Froese, 1998). The growth was isometric for N. thalassinus and P. niger (b = 3, P > 0.05). S. sihama, P. quadrilineatus and N. nasus showed negative allometric (b < 3, P < 0.05). Relative condition factor (Krel) did not differ significantly between species (P > 0.05) and ranged from 0.98 0.14 (for P. quadrilineatus) to 1.03 0.17 (for N. thalassinus) (Figure 2).

where W is the whole body wet weight (g), L is the total length or fork length (cm) and a and b are the parameters of length-weight relationship (Le Cren, 1951). ANOVA test was used for comparison of relative condition factor (Krel) between caught species.

DISCUSSION This study can be of help to fishery managers of the Persian Gulf, because of the lack of documentation about length-weight relationship of the selected species in the Iranian waters of the Persian Gulf. Isometric growth (b = 3, P > 0.05) in N. thalassinus and P. niger indicated that the small specimens have the same form and condition as large specimens. Negative allometric growth (b < 3, P < 0.05) in S. sihama, P. quadrilineatus and N. nasus also indicated that large specimens changed their body shape to become more elongated or small specimens were in better nutritional condition at the time of sampling

RESULTS A total of 568 specimens were measured. The length characteristics and parameters of the length-weight relationships of the selected species are shown in Table 1. All regressions are highly significant (P < 0.01) and the r2 values range from 0.85 (S. sihama) to 0.96 (P. quadrilineatus). The mean value of b for all species was 2.7673. The 95% confidence limits (CL) values of exponent b for all the species were mostly sets within the range of 2.5 to 3.5. Therefore, these

where ts is the t-test value, b is the slope and Sb the

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Table 2. The parameters a and b of the length-weight relationship of selected species in the Fish base.

Species N. thalassinus

Location Kuwait (Bawazeer, 1987) Indonesia; Western region (Pauly et al., 1996) Indonesia; Pulau sea, South Kalimantan (Hadisubroto and Subani, 1994) Bangladesh; Bay of Bangal (Mustafa, 1999) India; Godavary estuary (Rao, 1972) Indonesia; Western region (Pauly et al., 1996) India; Palicat lake (Krishnamurthy and Kaliyamurthy, 1978) India; Palicat lake (Krishnamurthy and Kaliyamurthy, 1978) New Caledonia; lagoon (Letourneur et al., 1998) Turkey; Eastern Meditternian (Taskavak and Bilecenoglu, 2001) China Main; Daya Bay, Guangdong (Xu et al., 1994)

Length type TL TL FL TL TL TL TL FL TL SL

Length 13.0 - 87.0 32.0 - 56.0 5.0 - 38.0 4.0 - 10.0 10.1 - 33.0 3.5 - 29.0 7.9 - 12.1 7.0 - 16.0

Sex Unsexed Unsexed Unsexed Unsexed Unsexed Unsexed Unsexed Unsexed Unsexed Unsexed Unsexed

a 0.0088 0.0097 0.0625 0.0211 0.0100 0.0073 0.0069 0.0041 0.0059 0.0134 0.0108

b 3.022 3.040 2.642 3.012 3.062 3.319 3.028 3.089 3.130 2.958 3.105

P. niger

S. sihama

P. quadrilineatus N. nasus

SL: Standard length, TL: total length.

(Froese, 2006). In this study, efficient sampling was conducted to include the widest possible range of lengths, which were generally obtained with large samples and non-selective fishing gear. Difference in fish lengths shows that the fish population ranged from small specimens to adult. The comparison of the b values obtained in this study and some previously reported results in other location of the world mostly indicate variation in the b values (Table 2). This variation can be affected by sex, gonad maturity, health, season, habitat, nutrition, environmental conditions (such as temperature and salinity), area, degree of stomach fullness, differences in the length range of the caught specimen, and fishing gear (Tesch, 1971; Froese, 2006), although, they are not considered in the present study. Conclusively, it is suggested that further study should be conducted on the composition of LWRs

of both sexes of the caught species. Also, relationship between data of physico-chemical parameter of water (Hydrology data) and the parameters of LWRs should be estimated. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This study was supported by Gorgan University of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources and Iran Shrimp Research Centre (ISRC). The authors thank the crew of R/V SHANAK.
REFERENCES Beyer JE (1987). On length-weight relationship. Part 1. Correspondingthe mean weight of a given length class. Fishbytes. 5(1):1113. Bolger T, Connoly PL (1989). The selection of suitable indices for the measurement and analysis of fish condition. J. Fish Biol. 34:171182.

Fifioye OO, Oluajo OA (2006). Length-weight relationships of five fish species in Epelagoon, Nigeria. Afr. J. Biotechnol. 4(7):749-751. Froese R (1998). Length-weight relationships for 18 lessstudied fish species. J. Appl. Ichthyol. 14:117-118. Froese R (2006). Cube law, condition factor and LengthWeight relationships: history, meta-analysis and recommendations. Appl. Ichthyol. 22:241-253. Froese R, Pauly D (2011). FishBase. World Wide Web Electronic Publication. Available at http://www.fishbase.org. (accessed on 10 November 2011). Garcia CB, Buarte JO, Sandoval N, Von Schiller D, Mello NP (1989). Length-weight Relationships of Demersal Fishes from the Gulf of Salamanca, Colombia Fishbyte 21:3032. Hadisubroto I, Subani W (1994). The catch and biological aspect of black pomfret (Formio niger) in Kotabaru, south Kalimantan. J. Mar. Fish. Res. (85):95-102. (In Indonesian with English abstract). Haimovici M, Velasco G (2000). Length-weight relationship of marine fishes from southern Brazil. The ICLARM Q. 23(1):14-16. Hossain MY, Ahmed ZF, LeundaIslam PM, Islam AKMR, Jasmine S, Oscoz J, Miranda R, Ohtomi J (2006). Lengthweight and length-length relationships of some small indigenous fish species from the Mathabhanga River,

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southwestern Bangladesh. Appl. Ichthyol. 22:301-303. Koutrakis ET, Tsikliras AC (2003). Length-weight relationships of fishes from three northern Aegean estuarine systems (Greece). Appl. Ichthyol. 19:258260. Krishnamurthy KN, Kaliyamurthy M (1978). Studies on the age and growth of sandwhiting Sillago sihama (Forsskl) from Pulicat Lake with observations on its biology and fishery. Indian J. Fish. 25(1&2):84-97. Le Cren ED (1951). The lengthweight relationship and seasonal cycle in gonad weight and condition in the perch (Perca uviatilis). J. Anim. Ecol. 20:201219. Letourneur Y, Kulbicki M, Labrosse P (1998). Length-weight relationships of fish from coral reefs and lagoons of New Caledonia, southwestern Pacific Ocean: an update. Naga ICLARM Q. 21(4):3946. Moutopoulos DK, Stergiou KI (2002). Length-weight and length-length relationships of fish species from Aegean Sea (Greece). Appl. Ichthyol. 18:200-203. Mustafa MG (1999). Population dynamics of penaeid shrimps and demersal fin fishes from trawl fishery in the Bay of Bengal and implication for the management. PhD thesis. University of Dhaka, Bangladesh. p. 223. Pauly D, Cabanban A, Torres FSB (1996). Fishery biology of 40 trawlcaught teleosts of western Indonesia. In D. Pauly and P. Martosubroto (eds.) Baseline studies of biodiversity: the fish resource of western Indonesia. ICLARM Stud. Rev. 23:135-216.

Rao LH (1972). Observations on the biology of Parastromateus niger (Bloch) and Pampus chinensis (Euphrasen) from the Godavari estuary. J. Inland Fish. Soc. 4:207-209. Reynolds RM (1993). Physical oceanography of the Gulf, Strait of Hormuz, and the Gulf of Oman: results from the Mitchell Expedition. Mar. Poll. Bul. 27:35-60. Sokal RR, Rohlf FJ (1987). Introduction to biostatistics, 2nd edn. Freeman Publication, New York. pp. 363. Taskavak E, Bilecenoglu M (2001). Length-weight relationships for 18 Lessepsian (Red Sea) immigrant fish species from the eastern Mediterranean coast of Turkey. J. Mar. Biol. Assoc. U.K. 81(5):895896. Tesch FW (1968). Age and growth. In: Methods for assessment of sh production in fresh waters. Ricker WE (Ed.). Blackwell Scientic Publications. Oxford. pp. 93123. Tesch FW (1971). Age and growth. In: Ricker WE ed., Methods for Assessment of Fish Production in Freshwaters, Blackwell Scientific Publications, Oxford. pp. 98-100. Xu G, Zheng W, Huang G (1994). Atlas of the fishes and their biology in Daya Bay. Anhui Scientific and Technical Publishers, P.R.O.C. pp. 311. Zar JH (1984). Biostatistical analysis. Prentice Hall, New Jersey. pp. 718.

African Journal of Agricultural Research Vol. 7(28), pp. 4066-4074, 24 July, 2012 Available online at http://www.academicjournals.org/AJAR DOI: 10.5897/AJAR12.1197 ISSN 1991-637X 2012 Academic Journals

Full Length Research Paper

Management of post-harvest Pectobacterium soft rot of cabbage (Brassica oleracea var capitata L.) by biocides and packing material
K. A. Bhat1*, N. A. Bhat1, F. A. Mohiddin1, S. A. Mir2 and M. R. Mir3
Division of Plant Pathology, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Kashmir, Shalimar-191 121 Srinagar J and K, India. 2 Regional Research Station, Faculty of Agriculture Wadure, Sopore Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Kashmir, India. 3 Department of Botany, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh-202002, India.
Accepted 12 June, 2012
1

Bioassay studies of several biocides against Pectobacterium carotovorum ssp. carotovorum revealed that ciprofloxacin proved highly inhibitive to bacterial growth by producing highest inhibition zone (21 mm) at a concentration of 200 g mL-1 followed by penicillin, tetracycline, and oxytetracycline. Other test chemicals viz., amoxicillin, striplin, azithromycine, mercuric chloride, bleaching powder, sodium hypochlorite and copper-oxychloride, produced a moderate to low inhibition zone. Studies on use of effective antibiotics for post-harvest management of soft rot revealed ciprofloxacin as the most effective by giving a disease control of 84.78, 97.78 and 80.43% when used as pre, simultaneous, and post inoculation sprays respectively, on cabbage heads. Other three antibiotics viz., penicillin, tetracycline and oxytetracycline also gave good control of the disease. Factorial experiment aiming to study the combined effect of biocides and packing materials (polythene bags, net bags, gunny bag, and cardboard boxes) reveals that cabbage heads treated with ciprofloxacin and packed in net bags showed the lowest rot intensity of 4.5%, with lowest weight loss due to maceration after six days of storage, whereas cabbage heads packed in poly bags without any biocide treatment showed the highest rot intensity of 77.78% with the highest weight loss during the same course of time. These tested compounds and packing materials demonstrate the potential for management of post-harvest soft rot caused by P. carotovorum ssp. carotovorum especially for regions lacking cold store facility during post-harvest and transit period. Key words: Pectobacterium carotovorum ssp. Carotovorum, cabbage soft rot, post-harvest chemical control, packing material.

INTRODUCTION Post-harvest bacterial soft rot causes greater total loss of product than any other bacterial disease (Agrios, 2007). Although accurate estimates of the losses are not available, these may amount annually to a total of $ 50 to 6 100 x 10 on a world wide basis (Michel and Kelman, 1980). In cabbage (Brassica oleracea var capitata L.) and related crops, infected heads fail to throw flowering shoots followed by stump rot resulting in heavy losses in seed production. Vegetables coming from the field may already be infected even though they do not show visible symptoms at harvest. This latent infection may cause severe post-harvest damage because of high temperature and humidity. Pectobacterium carotovorum ssp. carotovorum (formerly Erwinia carotovora ssp. carotovora) has been found to be the most common

*Corresponding author. E-mail: khurshid_agri@yahoo.com. Tel: +919906803583.

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bacterial pathogen associated with the soft rot disease (Larka, 2004). This bacterium enters plant tissues primarily through wounds, often created by insect feeding or bruising at harvest or during post harvest handling. The conditions for the development of the disease become favorable with increase in temperature during the summer. The disease proliferates rapidly and within no time, results in rapid tissue breakdown and thus causes heavy damage especially in countries lacking cold storage and with poor transportation and handling system (Higashio and Yamada, 2004). There are no effective chemical controls for P. carotovorum and other bacteria causing soft rot (James et al., 2009). Hot water treatment is recognized as a simple and easy technique to control pathogen infection and insect infestation and has already been put to practical use in many foreign countries (GonzalezAguliar, 1999; Miura, 2001). However, in a study conducted by Higashio and Yamada (2004), no suppressive effect by dipping cabbage heads in hot water having temperature of 50 was obtained. Energy costs C associated with the process may also be prohibitory (Mills et al., 2006). Chlorination using sodium or calcium hypochlorite has been recommended (Galati et al., 2005). However, chlorine quickly loses effectiveness when soil, leaves or diseased tissue are present in the water; moreover, disinfectant activity of a chlorine solution increases at lower pH as greater the amount of hypochlorus acid becomes available for disinfection. However, vegetables and fruits are damaged by low pH chlorine solutions, moreover, chlorination acts as a preventive measure only and if there is already infection and decay or injury in the field, it does not help to limit spread of soft rot in storage (Anonymous, 1990). Although experiments investigating the effect of alum, silica gel and lime as post-harvest treatments to control soft rot in cabbage have shown decrease in the amount of infection (Napitupulu and Lubis, 1987, Sihombing, 1986), certain studies also reveal that salts are effective against various bacterial and fungal post-harvest infections in apples and potatoes (McGuire and Kelman, 1986; Conway et al., 1991). Other studies have shown that though many compounds of calcium proved effective, yet some of them showed a tendency to promote soft rot and the effect of calcium compounds application was due to the interception of bacteria at wounds rather than any physical function of calcium (Higashio and Yamada, 2004). Compounds like sodium metabisulphate, propyl paraben, alum, potassium sorbate, calcium propionate and copper sulphate pentahydrate showed that they inhibited E. carotovora ssp. atroseptica and E. carotovora ssp. carotovora (Mills et al., 2006) but an effective and promising control of the disease is still a challenge. Apart from chemical treatments, the effect of type of packing material on development of bacterial soft rot of vegetables in general has not received great attention.

An efficient packing material which considerably suppresses post harvest soft rot will be even more helpful in regions lacking cold store facility during post harvest and transit for a period until the produce reaches the consumer. The present study aims to work out the in vitro effect of various antibiotics along with other bactericides on the soft rot causing bacteria P. carotovorum ssp. carotovorum to test in vitro the effective ones as preventive and curative treatments against cabbage soft rot. Moreover, the effect of commonly used packing materials coupled with biocide treatments against soft rot disease in artificially infected cabbage heads with optimum epiphytotic conditions under storage was tested. Such a study was considered imperative in regions where the disease becomes highly destructive during the summer months.
MATERIALS AND METHODS Studies were conducted in plant pathology laboratory of S.K. University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Kashmir. All the compounds used were obtained from the authorized suppliers approved by the university purchase committee. The strain of the pathogen used in the study was isolated from diseased tissue of cabbage tissue bearing soft rot lesions obtained from local wholesale and retail markets. The leaves were washed with sterile distilled water and several small diseased bits were excised from the leading edge. These bits were surface sterilized in 1:1000 mercuric chloride solution followed by a series of washings with sterile distilled water. These surface sterilized bits were macerated in sterile distilled water under aseptic conditions and kept undisturbed for two hours. A loopful from this suspension was streaked on at least 2 to 3 nutrient agar plates. The plates were incubated at 301 for 48 h and observations on colony C development were made. The isolated pathogen was characterized on the basis of pathogenicity on cabbage, morphological and biochemical characters. The identity of causal pathogen was also ascertained with the help of phytobacteriology division of Department of plant Pathology, Indian Agriculture Research Institute, New Delhi. In vitro evaluation of chemicals against soft rot bacterium The standard paper disc method of Thornberry (1950) was followed in this study. Nutrient agar was prepared and sterilized in usual manner in 250 ml flasks. The flasks were allowed to cool down up to 45C and 1 ml of 48 h old bacterial broth culture was added aseptically to them and shaked properly. The medium thus seeded with the pathogen was immediately poured in 10 cm Petri dishes and allowed to solidify. Filter paper discs, 7 mm in diameter, were soaked aseptically for 5 min in aqueous solution of different chemicals viz., ciprofloxacin, penicillin, tetracycline, oxy tetracycline, amoxicillin, striplin (streptomycin + tetracycline, 90:10), azithromycine, mercuric chloride, bleaching powder, sodium hypo chloride, and copper-oxy chloride, each used at three different concentrations. For each treatment, three Petri plates were used. In the centre of each Petri dish, one impregnated paper disc was placed. In case of control, paper discs soaked in sterile distilled water were used. The Petri plates were incubated for 72 h at 30 C. The efficacy of the various chemicals was assessed by measuring the zone of inhibition surrounding the filter paper disc after the

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incubation period. Laboratory evaluation of chemicals against soft rot on cabbage heads.

were recorded on incidence and severity of soft rot after every 24 h for a period of 7 days and percent loss in weight due to the disease was calculated. Statistical analysis

Four biocides that proved effective against the pathogen during in vitro studies were selected for this experiment. The chemicals at a concentration of 200 g mL-1 were applied at different times in three different experiments viz., 12 h prior to the inoculation of the pathogen, simultaneously with inoculation of the pathogen, and 12 h after inoculation of the pathogen. Freshly cut pre-weighed cabbage heads were surface sterilizes by dipping in a 0.1% of sodium hypochlorite for 30 s followed by serial washings with sterile water and then air dried under the hood of laminar air flow. Inoculum was generated from 48 h old culture of P. carotovorum ssp. carotovorum grown in nutrient broth and the heads were thoroughly sprayed with the uniform cell suspension of the pathogen having a cell count of 2x109 cfu/ml. In case of prior inoculation with pathogen, chemicals were sprayed 12 h after inoculation of pathogen. In case of simultaneous inoculation of pathogen and biocide, heads were inoculated with pathogen followed by pricking and immediately sprayed with test biocides. In the third case, at 12 h after with the biocides, the heads were sprayed with uniform suspension of the pathogen at the concentration afore reported. Cabbage heads in each case after inoculation with pathogen were followed by pin pricking with entomological pins mounted on a wooden stick. Cabbage heads inoculated with sterile distilled water followed by pin pricking served as control. Five cabbage heads constituted one replication and 3 replications were used for each treatment. The heads were put in sterile plastic bags, sealed and stored at 301C. Observations were recorded as soft rot incidence, severity and percent loss in weight due to the disease after 72 h of inoculation of pathogen. Incidence was calculated as percentage of heads showing symptoms and severity was calculated by the formula: {Sum of the score / (total heads observed x highest rating)} x 100. Disease severity was rated on 0 to 5 scale (0 = no maceration of the tissue, 1 = 1 to 20%, 2 = 21 to 40%, 3 = 41 to 60%, 4 = 61 to 80% and 5 = 81 to 100% of tissue maceration). Percent soft rot control was calculated using the formula: {(C-T)/C} x 100, where C= soft rot severity in control and T= soft rot severity in treatment. To calculate percent loss in weight due to disease, cabbage heads were weighed before incubation and again after removing decayed tissue after incubation. The final weight was subtracted from initial mass to give total amount of decayed tissue or loss in weight. Loss in weight due to drying was deduced with the help of un-inoculated controls. Evaluation of chemicals and packaging material in combination for post harvest management of soft rot disease of cabbage An experiment was carried out using pre-weighed surface sterilized cabbage heads to study the effect of the combined use of different packing materials (viz., polythene bags, net bags, gunny bag, and cardboard boxes) and in ciprofloxacin (200 ppm), alum (15% aluminium potassium sulphate) and lime. In case of ciprofloxacin and alum treatments, the chemicals were sprayed on the heads followed by spraying with the uniform suspension of the pathogen having a cell count of 2x109 cfu/ml and pricking, while in case of lime treatment, the stalks of the heads were cut smoothly and were pressed on the powdered lime towards the butt end, followed by the spray of the pathogen suspension. All the treated heads were packed in the respective packing and stored at 301C. In each case, cabbage heads without the inoculation of the pathogen were maintained to assess the weight loss due to storage. Observations

Experiments were carried in completely randomized design (CRD). Data collected was subjected to analysis of variance technique (ANOVA) and the least significant difference (LSD/C.D) at 5 % level of significance was calculated using statistical software STATISTICA-AG (Stat Soft USA) licensed to Faculty of Agriculture SKUAST-K, Wadura Campus Sopore, Kashmir, India.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION A total of eleven antibiotics and other biocides were tested in vitro for their ability to inhibit the growth of causal bacterium. All of the eleven chemicals tested against P. carotovorum ssp. carotovorum viz., ciprofloxacin, penicillin, tetracycline, oxytetracycline, amoxicillin, stripling [streptomycin + tetracycline (90:10)], azithromycine, mercuric chloride, bleaching powder, sodium hypochlorite and copper oxychloride inhibited to varying extent the bacterial growth at all the three tested concentrations to varying extent and were considered effective. Ciprofloxacin proved significantly better than all other chemicals tested followed by penicillin. Others which followed in decreasing order of superiority were tetracycline, oxytetracycline and amoxicillin, respectively, followed by mercuric chloride, bleaching powder, azithromycine and striplin. Sodium hypochlorite and copper oxyxhloride gave only poor inhibition of the bacterium. No zone of inhibition was formed in case of control (Figure 1). The study on effect of antibiotic treatment at a concentration of 200 g ml-1 12 h before inoculation of pathogen on cabbage heads (Figure 2) reveals that all the antibiotics tested for the control of post harvest soft rot disease in cabbage were effective over untreated control in reducing incidence, severity as well as per cent weight loss due to the disease (Table 1). Ciprofloxacin proved to be the most effective in reducing disease incidence followed by penicillin and tetracycline. Highest soft rot control of 84.78% was recorded in case of ciprofloxacin, followed by penicillin (78.26%), tetracycline (73.91%) and a comparatively lower control was recorded in case of oxytetracycline (67.38%) (Figure 2). The weight loss due to maceration of host tissue also showed a similar trend (Table 1). Effect of antibiotic treatment at the time of inoculation with the pathogen on cabbage heads (Figure 3; Table 1) shows that all the treatments proved significantly superior over the control. Ciprofloxacin at 200 ppm was again most effective, giving least disease incidence (6.67) intensity (1.33) and percent weight loss of, and 0.51% followed by oxytetracycline, penicillin and tetracycline which did not differ significantly from each other but differed significantly from control. Ciprofloxacin controlled

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Diameter of zone of inhibition (mm)

25 20 15 10 5 0 Tetracycline Streptomycin + Tetracycline Ciproflaxacin Oxy tetracycline Penicillin Amoxicillin Azithromycine Bleaching Powder Sodium Hypo chloride Mercuric chloride Copper-Oxy chloride Control
C-1 C-2 C-3

Chemical C-1, C-2 and C-3 from Ciprofloxacin to mercuric chloride represents concentrations of 100, 150, and 200 ppm; 400, 500 and 600 ppm for bleaching pow dw e and Sodium hypochloride and 1000, 1500, 2000 for Copper oxychloride

Figure 1. Effect of various chemicals on growth of P. caratovorum ssp. caratovorum.

Figure 2. Effect of antibiotic treatment 12 h before inoculation of pathogen on cabbage heads stored at 30 C. Concentration of chemicals = 200 g mL-1.

Table 1. Effect of antibiotic treatment on per cent weight loss due to maceration caused by soft rot of cabbage.

Time of application Antibiotic Ciprofloxacin Penicillin Tetracycline Oxy tetracycline No treatment Mean

Before 12 h pathogen 2.55 (1.87)* 3.45 (2.09) 4.08 (2.25) 5.07(2.46) 29.42 (5.51) 8.91 (2.84)

Simultaneously with pathogen 0.51 (1.22) 2.19 (1.78) 2.58 (1.89) 1.47 (1.55) 29.42 (5.51) 7.23 (2.39)

After 12 h of pathogen 2.85 (1.94) 4.29 (2.29) 4.05 (2.24) 4.35 (2.30) 29.42 (5.51) 8.99 (2.86)

Mean 1.97 (1.68) 3.31 (2.05) 3.57 (2.12) 3.63 (2.11) 29.42 (5.51) 8.38 (2.69)

C.D (p<0.05) (0.29)(0.35) (0.41). Treatments = 0.19; time of application = 0.15; treatments x time of application = 0.33; *figures in parenthesis are square root transformed values.

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Figure 3. Effect of antibiotic treatment at the time of inoculation of pathogen on soft rot of cabbage heads stored at 30C. Concentration of chemicals = 200 g mL-1.

the disease by 97.78%, followed by oxytetracycline (86.95%), penicillin (82.61%) and tetracycline (82.61%), respectively. Similarly, upon the study of effect of antibiotic treatment 12 h after inoculation of pathogen, it is evident from the results presented in Figure 4 that all the antibiotics tested for the control of post harvest soft rot disease in cabbage were effective over untreated control in reducing incidence, intensity as well as percent weight loss due to disease (Table 1). Highest soft rot control of 80.43% was recorded in case of ciprofloxacin, followed by oxytetracycline (71.74%), penicillin (69.57%) and least was recorded in case of tetracycline (67.38%). The weight loss due to macerating effect of host tissue was least (2.85%) in heads treated with ciprofloxacin followed by tetracycline (4.05%), penicillin (4.29%) and oxytetracycline (4.35%) (Table 1). Data in Table 5 reveals that ciprofloxacin (200 ppm) spray was a superior treatment in all the three cases, that is, pre, simultaneous and post inoculation of all the treatments were significantly superior over control at all times of application. The study shows that antibiotics can provide effective options for control of soft rot disease. The efficacy of ciprofloxacin which is a new fluoroquinolone antimicrobial agent is not well documented against P. carotovorum ssp. carotovorum, but its efficacy is well established against Gram negative bacteria also belonging to enterobacteriaceae family (Anonymous, 2003). The present study confirms its efficacy against the enterobacteriaceae P. carotovorum ssp. carotovorum. Grula et al. (1968) has reported inhibition of cell division of Erwinia sp. in low concentrations of penicillin. Mills et al. (2006) has reported seven penicillin binding proteins in E. amylovora. Tetracycline group of antibiotics which include tetracycline and oxytetracycline are inhibitors of

protein synthesis and thus bactericidal (Anonymous, 1990). Best control of E. carotovora by streptomycin and tetracycline and partial control with copper compounds was also reported by Mills et al. (2006) and Mazzucchi and Swampa (1972). Present studies also confirm the bactericidal activity of such chemicals against P. carotovorum ssp. carotovorum. Results presented in Figures 5 and 6 reveals that lowest incidence of disease (11.12%) and severity of 2.20% (Figure 6) was recorded on cabbage heads in net bags treated with ciprofloxacin while cabbage heads packed in poly bags without any chemical treatment showed 100% disease incidence and 33.11% severity after 4 days of storage. Amongst packing materials, net bag packing was most efficient in reducing disease incidence followed by gunny bags and cardboard box packing, respectively. Cabbage heads packed in cardboard boxes and treated with ciprofloxacin showed a severity of 6.67%, which were at par with those packed in gunny bags and treated with lime (6.88%) (Figure 6). Disease incidence and severity in poly bag packing was highest. Similarly, among chemical treatments, ciprofloxacin proved most effective in reducing both incidence and severity followed by lime and alum, respectively. Perusal of the data recorded after 6 days of storage (Figure 7) reveals that lowest incidence of disease (22.30%) was recorded on cabbage heads in net bags treated with ciprofloxacin while cabbage heads packed in polybags without any chemical treatment showed 100% disease incidence after 6 days of storage. Data reveals that amongst packing materials, net bag packing was most efficient in reducing the development of disease incidence followed by gunny bags and cardboard box packing, respectively. Similarly, among chemical

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Figure 4. Effect of antibiotic treatment 12 h after the inoculation of pathogen on cabbage heads stored at 30C. Concentration of chemicals = 200 g mL-1.

Figure 5. Effect of various packing materials and chemical treatments on incidence of soft rot of cabbage recorded after 4 days of inoculation.

Soft rot severity (%)

Figure 6. Effect of various packing materials and chemical treatments on severity of soft rot of cabbage recorded after 4 days of inoculation.

Soft rot incidence (%)

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treatments, ciprofloxacin proved most effective in reducing incidence followed by lime and alum, respectively. Data on percent disease severity after 6 days (Figure 8) reveals that lowest severity of 4.50% was recorded in heads packed in net bags and treated with ciprofloxacin followed by 6.50% in heads packed in net bags and treated with lime. Heads stored in gunny bags and treated with ciprofloxacin showed severity at par with the heads stored in net bags and treated with alum (8.89%). The average effect indicates that net packing was most efficient with severity of 7.77% followed by gunny bag packing (14.99%). Among chemical treatments, ciprofloxacin was most efficient, showing an average severity of 10.56% followed by 15. 54% with lime, 18.89% with alum and 35.49% in heads receiving no

Soft rot severity (%)

Figure 8. Effect of various packing materials and chemical treatments on severity of soft rot of cabbage recorded 6 days after inoculation.

Soft rot incidence (%)

Figure 7. Effect of various packing materials and chemical treatments on incidence of soft rot of cabbage recorded 6 days after inoculation.

treatment. The highest severity of 77.78% was recorded in heads stored in poly bags without chemical treatment. The data presented in Table 2 on percent weight loss due to soft rot after 6 days indicates that minimum weight loss due to maceration (3.01%) was recorded in heads stored in net bags and treated with ciprofloxacin, which was followed by heads stored in gunny bags and treated with ciprofloxacin (5.70%). These were followed by heads stored in net bags and treated with lime which was statistically at par with those stored in net bags and treated with alum (6.70%). Highest weight loss of 69.50% was recorded in poly bags with no chemical treatment, followed by heads stored in cardboard box and receiving no treatment (29.33%). The average effect of packing material indicates that percent tissue loss due to maceration is lowest at 5.67% in net packing followed by

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Table 2. Effect of various packing materials and chemical treatments on weight loss due to soft rot disease after 6 days of storage.

Packing material Polybags Cardboard box Gunny bags Net packing Mean No treatment 69.50 (56.55)* 29.33 (32.77) 14.33 (22.23) 6.36 (14.61) 29.88 (31.54) Ciproflaxin 12.16 (20.23) 6.03 (14.21) 5.70 (13.77) 3.01 (10.00) 6.75 (14.55)

Weight loss (%) Chemicals Lime 21.33 (27.46) 9.26 (17.57) 9.13 (17.69) 6.63 (14.90) 11.60 (19.42)

Alum 25.33 (30.21) 12.16 (20.41) 11.66 (19.50) 6.70 (14.98) 14.09 (22.00)

Mean 32.08 (33.61) 14.04 (21.13) 10.20 (18.15) 5.67 (9.33) 15.58 (21.87)

C.D (p 0.05). Chemicals = 1.61, packing =

1.61, chemicals x packing= 3.22; *figures in parenthesis are arcsine transformed values.

10.20% in gunny bag packing, 14.04% in cardboard packing and 32.08% in polybag packing. The average effect of chemicals indicates ciprofloxacin as highly effective chemical followed by butt end treatment of lime, and alum, as compared to heads stored in different packing materials without treatment. The study to work out ideal packing material in combination with chemicals that inhibit post harvest soft rot in cabbage revealed that type of packing material played a very crucial role in development of the disease. Highest disease incidence, intensity and percent tissue loss due to maceration was observed in cabbage heads stored in poly bags without any chemical treatment. Moreover, a severity of 33.11% after 4 days of storage in polybag packing which increased to 77.78% after 6 days of storage clearly indicates the destructive nature of soft rot and its rapid development under favorable conditions of temperature and humidity. Although the heads receiving chemical treatments and stored in polybags showed considerable reduction of the disease, but despite treatments, the disease was comparatively higher than in case of other three packing materials. In cardboard boxes, disease was much less than that of poly bags. Among the cabbage heads stored in cardboard boxes and receiving different chemical treatments, the weight loss due to maceration was lowest at 6.03% in those treated with ciprofloxacin. Gunny bag packing was still better then poly bag as well as card board box packing, which results in less disease incidence, severity and percent weight loss. The rate of progress of disease was also less in gunny bags as compared to polybags and card board boxes. Again, in case of gunny bag packing, lowest disease was recorded in heads treated with ciprofloxacin and highest in heads receiving no chemical treatment. The most efficient packing material showing least disease incidence, severity, as well as tissue maceration was observed to be net bag packing and the most efficient combination of chemical treatment and packing material were cabbage heads treated with ciprofloxacin and packed in net bags. A lowest of 3.01% tissue loss due to maceration was

recorded in heads packed in net bags and receiving ciprofloxacin treatment after six days of storage duration. Net bags besides preventing disease also considerably slowed down disease development upon 6 days of storage as compared to other packing materials. Although there are no previous reports regarding use of packing materials to reduce post harvest soft rot losses, however, different packing materials play a vital role in maintaining different degrees of humidity and temperature in packages during storage and transit. High humidity in combination with favorable temperature is congenial for development of soft rot. Our studies is therefore supported by previous studies of Bhattacharya and Mukarjee (1986) and Raju et al. (2008), who as a result of their studies concluded that increased relative humidity (RH) enhanced soft rot in storage. Walker (1998) also reported dehydration of rot tissue and reduction of advancement of soft rot in dry atmosphere, which supports our findings that less humidity in net bags results in less post harvest soft rot. Efficacy of chemicals like alum, against soft rot disease has previously been reported by several workers (Mills et al., 2006). Higashio and Yamada (2004) and Tsuyama (1961) have reported butt end treatment of cabbage heads with lime effective to prevent post harvest bacterial soft rot by interception of bacteria at wounds, received during harvesting of cabbage heads. These findings are in conformity with our studies. Although, during present investigations, a better chemical treatment (ciprofloxacin in combination with net packing ) was found highly effective in reducing post harvest bacterial soft rot in cabbage up to 6 days of storage. Though antibiotics have already been used in various plant diseases control strategies, however, more studies are required before use of such antibiotics in cabbage or other food to rule out running of any possible risk of development of antibiotic resistant bacterial species and to estimate any possible health hazard related to such control strategies; besides, any such disease control strategies involving chemicals if used, should not be considered the ultimate, and research should continue to look for safer alternatives.

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REFERENCES Agrios GN (2007). Bacterial soft rots. In: Plant Pathology Fifth edition Academic Press San Diego p. 656. Anonymous (1990). Bacterial soft rot of vegetables, fruits and ornamentals. Report on plant disease RPD NO. 943. Department of Crop Science University of Illions. Anonymous (2003). Antibiotics. In: Drug Today. July-September, 2003. P.O. Box No. 9116 Delhi 110091, pp. 218-232. Bhattacharya I, Mukherjee N (1986). Soft rot of storage tissue due to some uncommon bacteria: some epidemiological aspects. Indian Agriculturist, 30:75-82 Conway WS, Sams CE, Abbot JA, Bruton BD (1991). Postharvest calcium treatment of apple fruit provides broad-spectrum protection against postharvest pathogens. Plant Dis. 75:620-622 Galati A, McKay A, Soon CT (2005). Minimising post harvest losses of carrots. Farm note No.75/95. Department of Agriculture and food. Government of Western Australia, South Perth. Gonzalez-Aguilar AG (1999). Storage quality of bell pepper pretreated with hot water and polythene packing. J. Food Qual. 22:287-299. Grula EA, Smith GL, Grula MM (1968). Cell division in Erwinia: inhibition of nuclear body division in filaments growth in penicillin or mitomycin. Crop Sci. 3837:161-164. Higashio H, Yamada M (2004). Control of soft rot after harvest of cabbage in Indonesia. J. Agric. Res. Q., 38:3. James J, Farrar NJJ, Davis RM (2009). Losses due to lenticel rot are an increasing concern for Karen county potato growers. Calif. Agric. 63:127-130. Larka BS (2004). Integrated approach for the management of soft rot (Pectobacterium carotovorum sub-sp. carotovorum) of radish (Raphanus sativus) seed crop. Haryana J. Agron. 20:128-129. McGuire RG, Kelman A (1986). Calcium in potato tuber cell walls in relation to tissue maceration by Erwinia catotovora pv. atroseptica. Phytopathology 76:401-406.

Michel CMP, Kelman A (1980). Ecology of soft rot Erwinias. Ann. Rev. Phytopathol. 18:361-387. Mills AAS, Plat HW, Hurta RAR (2006). Sensitivity of Erwinia spp. to salt compounds in-vitro and their effect on the development of soft rot in potato tubers in storage. PostHarvest Biol. Technol. 41:208-214. Miura K (2001). Vegetable Gardening Handbook. S. Nishi and Yokendo (ed.) Tokyo, pp. 163-173. Mazzucchi U, Svampa G (1972). Trials on control of Erwinia carotovora, the causal agent in soft rot of vegetables. First contribution. Informatore Fitopatologico 22:10-10 Napitupulu B, Lubis MH (1987). Experiments to test the effectiveness of several chemicals (lime, alum and silica gel) to control soft rot development during transport and storage period. Bull. Penal. Hortic. 15:332-336. Raju MRB, Pal V, Jalali I (2008). Inoculation method of Pectobacterium carotovorum sub-sp. carotovorum and factors influencing development of bacterial soft rot in radish. J. Mycol. Plant Pathol. 38:311-315. Sihombing OP (1986). The effect of chemical agent and polyethylent bag on incidence of soft rot on common cabbage. Bull. Penal. Hortic. 13:26-42. Tsuyama H (1961). Studies on the soft rot disease of Chinese cabbage caused by Erwinia aroideae. Bull. Inst. Agric. Res. Tohoku Univ. 13:221-345. Thornberry HH (1950). A paper disc plate method for quantitative evaluation of fungicides and bactericides. Phytopathology 40:419429. Walker JC (1998). Bacterial soft rots of carrot. In: Diseases of Vegetable Crops. Discovery Publishing Company, New Delhi, pp. 184-215.

African Journal of Agricultural Research Vol. 7(28), pp. 4075-4083, 24 July, 2012 Available online at http://www.academicjournals.org/AJAR DOI: 10.5897/AJAR12.001 ISSN 1991-637X 2012 Academic Journals

Full Length Research Paper

Predicting soil and forest floor carbon stocks in Western Anatolian Scots pine stands, Turkey
kr Teoman Gner1, Aydn mez1* and Krad zkan2
2

Research Institute for Forest Soil and Ecology, 26160, Eskiehir, Turkey. Department of Soil Ecology, Suleyman Demirel University, 32260, Isparta, Turkey.
Accepted 28 June, 2012

The objective of this study was to determine the models which estimate the soil plus forest floor carbon stocks (TC) using some stand, climate, and topographic parameters in Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) stands. 40 sample plots were taken from sites differing in aspects, elevation, slope degree, slope position, and stand growth condition. TC of the stands, as dependent variables, and stand, climate, and topographic properties, as independent variables, were determined and evaluated with multiple regression analysis (MRA) and classification and regression tree technique (CART). In conclusion, TC were related with elevation, slope degree, slope position, aspect, actual evapotranspiration, mean annual precipitation, length of vegetation period, rainfall in the driest month, rainfall from June to September, stand volume, and site index. 91% of the variance in TC was explained with CART while 60% with MRA in a local scale. The results showed that soil and forest floor might become a carbon source where the rainfall decreased, but a sink, especially in productive sites where rainfall of the driest month increased. Key words: Carbon stocks, forest floor, regression tree, Scots pine, soil. INTRODUCTION Global climate change is an important environmental matter threatening water resource, food production, natural ecosystems, and of course future of the world. 60 percent of the global warming is attributable to the increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration from 280 ppm in the preindustrial periods to todays 360 ppm (Grace, 2004). Forest ecosystems have the potential to be managed to reduce CO2 concentration, the most effective greenhouse gas for global climate change in the atmosphere, and thus mitigate climate change (Brown, 1997; Backus et al., 2005). Forests store more than 80% of all above ground terrestrial carbon stock and more than 70% of the soil organic carbon (Jandl et al., 2007). Carbon is stored in biomass, forest floor and soil in forest ecosystems. The largest pool of actively cycling carbon in terrestrial ecosystems is the soil. One third of the soil organic carbon stock is in the forest biomes (Janzen, 2004). Lal (2005) reported that soils had 50 to 80% of all carbon in a forest ecosystem stored in forest soil. So, determining the soil carbon is of great importance to account for the total carbon stock in a forest ecosystem but many complicated factors affect soil carbon storage, and this makes it difficult to calculate the soil carbon stocks. Carbon stocks in biomass can change, depending on latitudes (Dixon et al., 1994; Lal, 2005), site characteristics, forest structure, tree species, and silvicultural treatments (Keyser, 2010). Soil carbon is affected by climate, latitudes, vegetation properties, forestry treatments (Schimel et al., 1994; Liski and Westman, 1997), topographic and edaphic conditions (Kristofer et al., 2009; Olsson et al., 2009). Decomposition rate of forest floor is reduced in cold and moist climate conditions; hence, carbon accumulated in forest floor is increased. Forest floor emits large amount of its carbon to the atmosphere by decomposing more rapidly, where temperature and moisture conditions are

*Corresponding author. E-mail: acomez@hotmail.com. Tel: +90 222 3240248. Fax: +90 222 3241802.

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appropriate. Carbon in soil is emitted to the atmosphere by increasing microbial activity in convenient climate conditions as well. Silvicultural treatments, like regeneration cuttings and thinning, can change soil carbon stocks by affecting microclimate conditions and litter fall amount entering into soil on a large scale (Johnson and Curtis, 2001; Jandl et al., 2007; Novc et al., 2010). Estimates of national forest carbon stock are mainly based on national forest inventory data. Stand volume data are converted into biomass by using biomass conversion and expansion factors determined by research, and carbon stocks in biomass are calculated by multiplying by carbon concentration with biomass (Nabuurs et al., 1997) but soil carbon stocks are not able to be estimated in that way. Models have been improved for estimating soil carbon stocks based on research results. For example, Yasso model needs annually some data such as litter fall production, chemical properties and decomposition rates of litter fall and some climatic data (Liski et al., 2005). Additionally, some soil properties are used in ROMUL, SOILN, RothC, and CENTURY models (Peltoniemiet al., 2007). Producing all these data are time consuming and expensive. Besides, the lack of sufficient climatic data, due to frequent meteorology station web, can restrict the use of these models. So, more practical and cost effective methods are needed in carbon inventory for estimating soil carbon in forest ecosystems. Considering that soil is under the effect of trees and other site factors, some stand and site parameters can be useful in estimating of soil carbon stock. So, we aimed to construct models to estimate the soil and forest floor carbon stocks by investigating relationships between carbon stocks and some stand characteristics, climatic and physiographic site factors.
MATERIALS AND METHODS Study area The study was carried out on Turkmen mountain in Western Anatolian, one of the Scots pines southern most distribution area (39 16 to 39 38 N and 30 06 to 30 36 E) (Figure 1). Scots pines are distributed from 1200 to 1700 m in elevation on the Turkmen mountain. Dacite and rhyolite are the prevailing main rocks in the study area. Soils were classified as grey brown and podsolic grey brown forest soils according to FAO (2006). Forest floor were defined as moder. Due to the lack of the sufficient meteorology station web covering mountainous area in Turkey, climate is usually characterized by extrapolating or interpolating the data of the nearest stations to the research area. Therefore, data from Afyon and Eskiehir meteorlogy stations, 60 and 20 km far from study area, respectively, were used to define the climate of the research area in this study. Precipitation and temperature data from the meteorology stations were extrapolated with 54 mm increase and 0.5C decrease per 100 m in elevation, respectively (zyuvaci, 1999). Climate of the research area is semi humid and humid with an annual precipitation of 605 to 805 mm, mean annual temperature of 6.5 to 9.0C, and length of vegetation period of 188 to 213 days according to Wiersma (1963). The study area is

dominated by scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.). The other species occurring in the study area are Anatolian black pine (Pinus nigra Arnold.), trembling poplar (Populus tremula L.), oriental beech (Fagus orientalis Lipsky.), laurel leaved cistus (Cistus laurifolius L.), tinctory oak (Quercus infectoria), downy oak (Q. pupescens Willd.), iron oak (Q. cerris L.), common oak (Q. robur L.), prickly juniper (Juniperus oxycedrus L.), wild service (Sorbus torminalis Crantz.), dog rose (Rosa canina L.), and hawthorn (Cretaegus pentagyna Waldst. And Kitt. ex. Willd.).

Field sampling and laboratory methods Forty sample plots were taken from different topographic, soil, and stand growth properties, with an area of 200 to 400 m2. Slope position was calculated as percent relative to length of the whole slope. Aspect was recorded as the azimuth (Q) measured from true north, and transformed to a radiation index using the following equation:

RD =

[1 cos(( / 180)(Q 30))] 2

(1)

This assigns a value of zero to land oriented in a north-northeast direction (typically the coolest and wettest orientation) and a value of 1 on the hotter, drier south-southwest facing slopes (Moisen and Frescino, 2002; Aertsen et al., 2010). Actual evapotranspiration, water deficit, and water surples were calculated according to Thornthwaite method defined by zyuvaci (1999). A soil pit, 1 m in depth, was dug in each sample plot. Soil horizons were distinguished and soil types were defined according to FAO (2006). Soil samples were taken from horizons, with a soil core having a volume of 1 l. Amount of fine soil (< 2 mm) per 1 l volume was determined at 105 in the laboratory. Particle size C distribution was determined by hydrometer method of Bouyoucos (Kacar, 2009) and organic carbon by Walkley-black wet digestion method (Ravindranath and Ostwald, 2008). Carbon stock of each horizon was calculated by multiplying carbon concentration with fine soil amount. Then, by adding all horizon carbon stocks and multiplying by 10000, total soil carbon stock (forest floor + soil) was calculated for per hectare to 1 m depth. Forest floor samples were oven dried at 65C until constant weight, and then their mass for one hectare was determined. Carbon concentration of ground forest floor samples were determined by Leco CNH-S truspec elemental analyzer (Leco Corporation, St. Joseph, Michigan). Site index is a good indicator for growth of forest and represents top height of trees at a certain age, for example 50 or 100 years old. For determining the forest structure of sample plots, diameters of all trees and height of the five trees representing site index in the sample plot were measured. A tree having the closest height to the mean height of the five trees was cut and its age counted, and height measured. The stem of the trees cut were sectioned into two meters long, and volume of the stem were calculated from the sections as stem volume with bark regressed against diameter at breast height (Dbh) (Figure 2). The equation used in estimating the stem volume for single tree is as follows: (2) Where V is stem volume over bark. Growing stock was calculated by pooling single tree steam volume in each sample plot (R2 = 0.883). Statistical methods Regarding the statistical methods, firstly, linear and nonlinear

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Figure 1. Location of the study area and meteorology stations (and site and meteorology stations around the study site, respectively).

donate the study

regression analysis were applied to investigate the interrelations between total carbon and each independent variable by using SPSS for Windows (SPSS, 2004). For estimating total carbon, Classification and regression trees (CART) was performed. CART is a technique that grows a decision tree based on a binary partitioning algorithm that recursively splits the data until groups are either homogeneous or contain not less observations than a userdefined threshold (McKenny and Pedlar, 2003). The predicted value of a terminal node is the average of the response values in that node (Moisen and Frescino, 2002). CART is a popular technique because it represents information in a way that is intuitive and easy to visualize. Preparation of candidate predictors is simplified because predictor variables can be of any type (numeric, binary, categorical, etc.), model outcomes are unaffected by monotone transformations and differing scales of measurement among

predictors. Trees are insensitive to outliers, and can accommodate missing data in predictor variables by using surrogates (Breiman et al., 1984). Categorical and numerical response variables can be modeled with that approach. If response variable is categorical, then classification tree, if it is continuous regression tree are used. In this present study, regression tree technique was performed since the response variable is continuous data. The analysis was performed by using S-PLUS (MathSoft, 1997).

RESULTS The sampling was performed on wide range of site conditions differing in terms of stand properties,

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Figure 2. Regression tree results of relationships between carbon stocks and stand, climatic, and physiographic -1 3 -1 parameters, TC: soil + forest floor carbon stock (Mg ha ); SD: standard deviation; SV: standard volume (m ha ); SI: site index (m); E: elevation (m); I: inclination (%); SP: slope position (%); VP: vegetation period (day); RDM: rainfall of the driest month (mm).

physiography, soil, and climate, especially the fine soil amount which ranged from 1690 to 9105 t ha-1 (Table 1). As seen in Table 2, carbon stocks of the study site ranged from 19.4 to 60.4 Mg ha-1 and from 6.2 to 27.4 Mg ha-1 in soil and forest floor, respectively. Linear relationships between soil and forest floor carbon stocks and stand parameters, topographic factors, and climate were investigated with correlation analysis (Table 3). Significant relationships were found between soil and forest floor carbon stock and stand volume, site index, elevation, radiation index, actual evapotranspiration, mean annual precipitation, length of vegetation period, precipitation of the driest month, and precipitation from June to September. Results of multiple regression analysis (MRA) to model relationships between total carbon stocks (soil + forest floor) and parameters having significant relations with those are shown in Table 4. Actual evapotranspiration and stand volume entered into the first equation from the MRA, with an r2 of 56.5%. The second equation including five parameters, stand volume, site index, radiation index, actual evapotranspiration, rainfall from June to September, accounted 60.3% of the variation in carbon stock. Results of regression tree which is a hierarchic and alternative method to linear methods, correlation and regression analysis, are shown in Figure 2. According to regression tree results, relationships between actual and estimated carbon stocks were significant (P < 0.001) and explained 91.08% of the variance. Rainfall in driest month (RDM) ensured the first distinction (Node 1) for carbon stock in soil and forest floor (TC). TC was larger (61.9 Mg ha-1) in sites where the RDM was more than 17.4 mm (Node 3). In case of site index, it was less than 24.72 m, -1 less carbon stock (57.7 Mg ha ) was found in sites which

had a length of vegetation period more than 190 days. In case of the length of vegetation period, it was longer than 190 days, carbon stock decreased (48.6 Mg ha-1) after 1162 m in elevation. In the case where RDM was lower than 17.4 mm, carbon stocks were found less where site index was found under 19.59 m (38.0 Mg ha-1) than that above 19.59 m (54.0 Mg ha-1). In case of RDM, it was -1 above 17.4 mm, less carbon stock (60.6 Mg ha ) was found in sites with site index less than 24.72 m that is, less growth. Stand volume and slope position (Node 10 to Node 13) affected carbon stocks in sites with site index above 19.59 m (Node 5). Carbon stocks of sites with the stand volume higher than 364 m3 ha-1 and slope position less than 65% were found higher (Figure 2). The relative significance levels of RDM, SI, VP, SV, E, SP, and I, affecting TC, were 100, 79.1, 19.2, 12.4, 7.6, 7.5, and 2.5, respectively. So, it can be concluded that the most important factor influencing the TC was rainfall of the driest month. It was followed by site index, the length of the vegetation period, and stand volume. DISCUSSION Forest floor is an important part of carbon stock in forest ecosystems. It mainly constitutes 10% of total ecosystem carbon stock with other dead organic matter, and could be a key pool for older forests (Ravindranath and Ostwald, 2008). Bradford et al. (2009) reported that Rocky Mountain sites in Colorado and Wyoming had contained an average of 61 t/ha forest floor carbon, accounting for 36% of total above ground carbon. In Pacific Northwest forest, Adams et al. (2005) showed

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Table 1. Site characteristics of the study stands.

Stand properties Stand volume Stand density Stand age Diameter at breast height Site index Physiographic factors Elevation Inclination Slope position Radiation index Soil properties Bulk density Fine soil Sand Silt Clay Forest floor properties Forest floor Climatic properties Actual evapotranspiration Water deficit Water surplus Mean annual temperature Annual rainfall Rainfall of the most drought month Rainfall from June to September

Units m3 ha-1 Tree ha-1 year cm m

Minimum 218.7 500 67 16.8 12.8

Maximum 683.2 2000 108 31.1 31.3

Mean 411.3 1035 87 23.2 20.1

Standard deviation 109.0 281 11 3.7 3.9

m % %

1222 3 13 0.004

1708 40 83 0.983

1492 20 51 0.516

142.7 9.4 18.6 0.330

g cm -3 -1 Mg ha Mg ha-1 Mg ha-1 Mg ha-1 Mg ha-1

0.52 1690 883 458 349

1.33 9105 6177 1710 2243

1.14 6323 3892 1108 1323

0.16 1497 1137 272 398

16.3

56.1

29.9

9.7

mm mm mm C mm mm mm

399 119 206 6.3 609 13 119

425 183 394 8.9 854 22 167

412 157 286 7.8 727 17 145

8,7 20.4 58.3 0.7 67.0 2.8 13.8

Table 2. Carbon stocks of the study site.

Carbon pools Soil Forest floor Total (soil + forest floor)

Units Mg C ha-1 Mg C ha-1 Mg C ha-1

Minimum 19.4 6.2 28.3

Maximum 60.4 27.4 81.5

Mean 37.4 14.6 52.0

Standard deviation 11.8 4.8 13.0

that forest floor could store carbon up to 9 to 35% of soil carbon stock. In the present study, forest floor carbon stock was found to be 14.6 t/ha, 39% of soil carbon stock. Forest floor carbon stocks of Scots pine stands were reported as 23 to 38 t/ha in Poland by Janssens et al. (1999) and Reed and Nagel (2003). Kolari et al. (2004) found that forest floor had stored 16 to 17 t/ha carbon in scots pine stands in Finland. In Scots pine stands near the study site, 8 to 21 t/ha carbon stock was reported in forest floor as related to the stand structure by mez (2012). Due to effects of climate on the decomposition rate of forest floor, our results were lower than results reported by Bradford et al. (2009), Janssens et al. (1999)

and Reed and Nagel (2003). 2 In this study, CART worked better than MRA, with r of 91 and 60%, respectively. Regression tree included variables of RDM, SI, SV, VP, I, SP, and E. Johnson et al. (2009) explained 60% of the variation in soil carbon stock with soil series, aspect, and slope by using regression tree method in the northern hardwoods of the Green mountains of Vermont. They reported that the largest amounts of soil organic matter stock had occurred in deep and well drained soils located on gently grading slopes. Besides, they found less soil organic matter on southern slopes than on other slope facings. Aspect did not enter into regression tree as a predictor in our study

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Table 3. Pearson correlation coefficients (r) between carbon stocks of soil and forest floor and stand properties physiographic factors, and climatic properties.

Source Stand properties Stand volume Site index Elevation Radiation index Inclination Slope position Actual evapotranspiration Water deficit Water surplus Mean annual temperature Annual rainfall Vegetation period Rainfall of the most drought month Rainfall from June to September

r 0.500 0.468 0.559 0.487 -0.208 -0.270 0.644 -0.196 0.244 0.029 0.347 -0.558 0.641 0.467

p ** ** ** ** ns ns ** ns ns ns * ** ** **

Physiographic factors

Climatic properties

r :Pearson correlation coefficients; p: significant level; ns: non significant; *: p < 0.05; **p < 0.01.

Table 4. Results of the multiple regression analysis of soil and forest floor carbon stock to some variables.

Multiple regression equations In(TC) = - 37.392 + 0.361 ln(SV) + 6.502 ln(AE) In(TC) = - 45.500 + 0.271 ln(SV) + 0.01323 (SI) - 0.0204 ln(RI) 0.369 ln(RJS) + 8.195 (AE)

R2 0.565 0.603

S.E.E 1.191 1.190

Equation number 1 2

S.E.E indicates the standard error of the model estimates; TC: total carbon; SV: stand volume; SI: site index; RI: radiation index; AE: actual evapotranspiration; RJS: rainfall from June to September.

but aspect, as radiation index, was found correlated with the carbon stock in correlation analysis, and less carbon stocks were found on steep slopes. These results agree with those of Johnson et al. (2009). Soil properties are also effective factors that influence the soil carbon dynamics. Soil bulk density, clay and silt content and fine soil amount affects the soil carbon. Walker and Desanker (2004) stated that carbon levels tended to increase with increasing clay content because carbon was captured within small pores of clay particles. Stones and rocks also dilute the volume of soil that stores the carbon, other nutrients, and water. Schulp et al. (2008) found carbon stock to be 39.5 Mg ha-1 in 10 cm top soil, with bulk -3 -1 density of 1.11 g cm , while 47.4 Mg ha with that of 1.45 -3 g cm . Similarly, in the present study, average soil bulk density was 1.14 g m-3, corresponding to mean carbon stock of 37.4 Mg ha-1 (Tables 1 and 2). In Belgian scots pine stands, soil carbon stock up to 1 m depth was found to be 115 t ha-1 in mineral soils, with 14823 t ha-1 fine soil (Janssens et al., 1999). Mean fine -1 soil amount was found to be 6323 Mg ha in this study. So, the regression tree will underestimate the carbon

stocks in sites having more fine soil and clay content than that of the study. Climate is another important factor that influences soil carbon stock. The most important climatic factors are precipitation and temperature, which have negative relationship with each other in decomposition of organic matter in forest ecosystems. As the annual precipitation increases, soil carbon stock shows an increase as well (Dai and Huang, 2006; Guo et al., 2006). Some studies showed that, a rise in precipitation increased soil carbon stock while a rise in temperature results in a decrease (Alvarez and Lavado, 1998; Dai and Huang, 2006; Guo et al., 2006). Increase in precipitation encourages tree growth, and hence more carbon input occurs into the soil through more litter fall. Microbial activity accelerates, owing to increase in moisture, while decrease in temperature affects microbial activity negatively. Retarding forest floor decomposition leads to accumulation of organic matter in soil. As the temperature is raised, organic matter mineralizes, and carbon stock in soil decreases due to soil respiration emitting carbon to the atmosphere. Balances between organic matter input into soil and decomposition of

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organic matter also affect the accumulation of carbon in forest soils (Barnes et al., 1998; Jandl et al., 2007). Organic matter input into soil occurs mainly with litter fall and fine root production by plants (Barnes et al., 1998). Factors influencing litter fall are climate, soil nutrient status, and stand properties such as basal area, canopy cover, and stand age (Berg and Laskowski, 2005). Pausas (1997) reported that increase in temperature and actual evapotranspiration increased litter fall. In our study, positive relationship between soil carbon stock and actual evapotranspiration may be attributed to increasing litter fall with actual evapotranspiration. Elevation has an important role in decomposition of organic matter due to its effects on precipitation and temperature. Tsui et al. (2004) found higher soil carbon stock in high elevation due to low decomposition rate and chances in chemical composition of litter fall with elevation. The carbon stocks also increased with elevation in our study. Yimer et al. (2006) stated that topographic aspect induced microclimatic differences which could be an important factor for the significant variations in soil carbon stock. As known, southern aspects are hotter and dryer than northern slopes in northern hemisphere. Microclimate differences can also affect organic matter amount entering into the soil and decomposition rates, hence important differences can occurred in soil carbon stocks. For example, Olsson et al. (2009) found soil carbon stocks as 50 and 118 t ha-1 in dry site and moist one, respectively, likely due to low decomposition rate in southern slopes and accumulation of organic matter in forest floor, rich in carbon concentration. On the contrary, southern slopes, dry and less fertile sites, can have more soil carbon stock than northern slopes, more fertile sites, due to more amount of fine root biomass (Vanninen and Mkel, 1999; Tfekiolu et al., 2005). In this study, increase in carbon stock depending on the radiation index that is, inclining towards to south, can be attributed to fine root biomass. We calculated the length of the vegetation period in relation to latitudes and elevations in this study. Latitude and elevation are influential factors on precipitation and temperature. Soil carbon stocks were reported to increase with temperature in some studies (Homann and Sollins, 1995; Olsson et al., 2009), while decrease in others (Alvarez and Lavado, 1998; Dai and Huang, 2006; Guo et al., 2006). Decrease in carbon stock results from accelerating decomposition rate by temperature. Decrease of carbon stocks in case of longer vegetation period and higher elevation than 1162 m can result from low temperature retarding tree growth, in this way litter fall, and decomposition rate in our study. Inclination was found influential on carbon stock if the site index was above 15.61 m. Sites where inclination was above 24.5% had less carbon stock (36.014 Mg ha-1) in comparison with other ones. Slope degree affects a lot of soil properties (Tsui et al., 2004). Fine portion of the soil accumulated on flat or almost flat terrains through moving

by runoff. In this way, flat and almost flat sites with no stones or a very few stones have more carbon stock. Liu et al. (2006) reported that soil carbon stocks decreased on steep slopes due to erosion. Slope position is another factor influencing the soil properties. Brejda et al. (2001) reported that soil organic carbon content increased in a downslope direction from the shoulders to the toe slopes. They concluded that greater soil organic carbon content at lower hill slope positions might be a result of both higher soil moisture, as a result of lateral flow and deposition of organic carbonriched surface soil material that eroded from upper hill slope positions. We found greater soil and forest floor carbon stock on toe slopes than upper slopes in this study. Stand properties such as stand age, basal area, and canopy closure are the main factors affecting carbon inputs into the soil through litter fall (Berg and Laskowski, 2005). Because higher stand volume leads to more organic matter input into the soil, soil carbon stock can be found high. Novk et al. (2010) stated that more litter fall occurred in unthinned Picea abies stands than thinned ones. In our study, sample plots were chosen from stands ranging in stand volume from 219 to 683 m3 ha-1 (Table 1). As seen in Figure 2, carbon stock was found to increase from 36.8 to 55.7 t ha-1 where stand volume was above 364 m3 ha-1 (Figure 2). Conclusion In this study, it was determined that carbon stock of soil and forest floor could change significantly even on a local scale. Elevation, slope degree, aspect, and slope position, which are the physiographic site factors, actual evapotranspiration, rainfall in the driest month, and rainfall from June to September, which are climatic factors, stand volume and site index, which are the stand parameters were important factors influencing the soil and forest floor carbon stocks in this study. Increasing in the rainfall of the driest month led to a rise in carbon stock in soil plus forest floor. Carbon stocks were found high in both good sites and stands with high stand volume. Extending of vegetation period affected carbon stock negatively. Changes in topography and microclimate also affected carbon stocks. Besides, it can be deduced that carbon stocks in soil and forest floor would likely descend in Scots pine forest of the region in case of decrease in rainfall in dry months. As for ascending the rainfall in the drought months, it may likely lead to increase in the carbon stocks in good sites. It is possible to estimate carbon stocks of soil and forest floor by using regression tree technique based on some climate, topography, and forest inventory data on local scales. Taking into consideration variables determined in this study will also be suitable for building the models, to use in wider scales, to estimate the carbon stocks. Besides, CART can be used as an alternative to MRA in

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estimating the forest floor and soil carbon stocks by national forest inventory data. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The authors thank Ahmet Mert, researcher in Suleyman Demirel University, Faculty of Forestry, for preparing the map of the study area used in this manuscript. The contributions of the reviewers is also appreciated.
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Janssens IA, Sampson DA, Cermak J, Meiresonne L, Riguzzi F, Overloop S, Caeulemans R (1999). Above- and below ground phytomass and carbon storage in Belgian Scots pine stand. Ann. For. Sci. 56:81-90. Johnson DK, Scatena FN, Johnson AH, Pan Y (2009). Controls on soil organic matter content within a northern hardwood forest. Geoderma 148:346-356. Johnson DW, Curtis PS (2001). Effects of forest management soil C and N storage: meta-analysis.For. Ecol. Manage. 140:227-238. Kacar B (2009). Toprak Analizleri [Soil analysis], Ankara, Turkey: Nobel Inc. (In Turkish). Keyser TL (2010). Thinning and site quality influence aboveground tree carbon stocks in yellow-poplar forests of the southern Appalachians, Can. J. For. Res. 40:659-667. Kristofer DJ, Scatena FN, Johnson AH, Pan Y (2009). Controls on soil organic matter content within a northern hardwood forest, Geoderma 148(3-4):346-356. Kolari P, Pumpanen J, Rannik , Ilvesniemi H, Hari P, Berninger F (2004). Carbon balance of different aged Scots pine forests in Southern Finland. Glob. Change Biol. 10:1106-1119. Lal R (2005). Forest soils and carbon sequestration. For. Ecol. Manage. 220:242258. Liski J, Westman CJ (1997). Carbon storage in forest soils of Finland. Biogeochem. 36:261-274. Liski J, Palosuo T, Peltoniemi M, Sievnen R (2005). Carbon and decomposition model Yasso for forest soils. Ecol. Model. 189(12):168-182. Liu D, Wang Z, Zhang B, Song K, Li X, Li J (2006). Spatial distribution of soil organic carbon and analysis of related factors in croplands of black soil region, Northeast China. Agric. Ecosyst. Environ. 113:7381. Mathsoft (1997). S-PLUS 4 Guide to Statistics. Seattle, WA: MathSoft, Inc. McKenny DW, Pedlar JH (2003). Spatial Models of Site Index Based on Climate and Soil Properties for Two Boreal Tree Species in Ontario, Canada. For. Ecol. Manage. 175:497-507. Moisen GG, Frescino TS (2002).Comparing five modelling techniques for predicting forest characteristics. Ecol. Model. 157:209-225. Nabuurs GJ, Pivinen R, Sikkema R, Mohren GMJ (1997). The role of European forests in the global carbon cycle-a review. Biomass Bioenerg. 13(6):345-358. Novk J, Slodik M, Duek D (2010). Litter-fall and humus accumulation in thinning experiment Kristianov in the JizerskeHoryMts.. Folia Forestalia Polonica 52(2):108-113. Olsson MT, Erlandsson M, Lundin L, Nilsson T, Nilsson , Stendahl J (2009). Organic carbon stocks in Swedish podsol soils in relation to soil hydrology and other site characteristics. Silva Fennica 43(2):209222. zyuvaci N (1999). Meteorolojive Klimatoloji [Meteorlogy and Climatology]. Istanbul University Istanbul-Turkey: (In Turkish). Pausas JG (1997). Litter fall and litter decomposition in Pinus sylvestris forests of the eastern Pyrenees. J. Veg. Sci. 8:643-650. Peltoniemi M, Trig E, Ogle S, Palosuo T, Schrumpf M, Wutzler T (2007). Models in country scale carbon accounting of forest soils. Silva Fennica 41(3):575-602. Ravindranath NH, Ostwald M (2008). Carbon Inventory Methods:Handbook for Greenhouse Gas Inventory, Carbon Mitigation st and Roundwood Production Projects (1 ed.). Springer-Business Media B.V. Reed D, Nagel L (2003). Carbon pools and storage along a temperate to boreal transect in northern Scots pine forests. Polish J. Ecol. 51(4):545-552. Schimel DS, Braswell BH, Holland EA, McKeown R, Ojima DS, Painter (1994). Climatic, edaphic, and biotic controls over storage and turnover of carbon in soils.Glob. Biogeochem. Cycles 8(3):279-293. Schulp CJE, Nabuurs GJ, Verburg PH, de Waal RW (2008). Effect of tree species on carbonstocks in forest floor and mineral soil and implications for soil carbon inventories. For. Ecol. Manage. 256:482490. SPSS (2004). Statistical Package for Windows. Version 13.0, Chicago, IL, USA: SPSS, Inc. Tsui CC, Chen ZS, Hsieh CF (2004). Relationships between soil

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Vanninen P, Mkel A (1999). Fine root biomass of Scots pine stands differing in age and soil fertility in southern Finland. Tree Physiol. 19:823-830. Walker SM, Desanker PV (2004). The impact of land use on soil carbon in Miombo Wooodlands of Malawi, For. Ecol. Manage. 203:345-360. Wiersma JH (1963). A new method of dealing with results of provenance test. Silva Genetica 12:200-205.

African Journal of Agricultural Research Vol. 7(28), pp. 4084-4096, 24 July, 2012 Available online at http://www.academicjournals.org/AJAR DOI: 10.5897/AJAR12.242 ISSN 1991-637X 2011 Academic Journals

Full Length Research Paper

Effect of ultraviolet-C (UV-C) illumination on postharvest quality and bioactive compounds in yellow bell pepper fruit (Capsicum annuum L.) during storage
Surassawadee Promyou1,2 and Suriyan Supapvanich1,2*
1

Faculty of Natural Resources and Agro-Industry, Kasetsart University, Chalermphrakiat Sakon Nakhon Province Campus, Sakon Nakhon, 47000, Thailand. 2 Postharvest Technology Innovation Center, Commission on Higher Education, Bangkok 10400, Thailand.
Accepted 5 June, 2012

The effects of ultraviolet-C (UV-C) illumination on postharvest quality and bioactive compounds of yellow bell pepper during refrigerated storage were investigated. The yellow bell pepper fruit were illuminated with three different UV-C dosages, 2.2, 4.4 and 6.6 KJ m-2 and then stored at 12 1C for 15 days. UV-C illumination at 6.6 kJ m-2 showed the best results in maintaining firmness and reducing the increase in weight loss and electrolyte leakage (EL) throughout storage. No significant differences in both weight loss and firmness were detected in the fruit illuminated with UV-C at 2.2, 4.4 kJ m-2 and the control fruit over storage. UV-C illumination had no effect on the changes in tristimulus colours (lightness, L* value, and yellowness, b* value), ascorbic acid (AsA) and total phenol (TP) contents of the yellow pepper fruit and these remained constant over storage. UV-C illumination at 6.6 kJ m-2 enhanced total carotenoid (TC), total flavonoid (TF) contents, antioxidant capacity and the activities of antioxidant enzymes including catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD), guaiacol peroxidase (G-POD) and ascorbate peroxidase (AsA-POD) when compared to the control fruit. In conclusion, UV-C illumination prevented the loss of firmness, weight and EL increase and enhanced biologically active compounds, especially, antioxidants, in yellow bell pepper fruit. Key words: Yellow bell pepper fruit, UV-C illumination, postharvest quality, bioactive compounds. INTRODUCTION Recently, the demand for fresh fruit and vegetables has been increased markedly, as the concern of human health has been promoted. It is universally recognized that fresh fruit and vegetables are the excellent sources of biologically active components that impact health benefits beyond basic nutrient (Erkan et al., 2008). As the consumption of fresh product has been continuously increased, the biologically active compounds contents are becoming an important factor of the quality of fresh fruit and vegetables. The changes in biologically active compounds during postharvest period have been recently interested by consumers. Nowadays, the research in postharvest technology has focused on the application of physical method to replacing the use of chemical control techniques (Wisniewski et al., 2001). ultraviolet-C (UV-C) irradiation is a potential technology used as an alternative to chemical treatment for postharvest fruit and vegetables. Generally, UV-C is harmful to tissues but it can be a beneficial effect on fresh fruit and vegetables at low doses (Shama, 2007) to induce their defense metabolic response including an accumulation of phytoalexins and activate genes encoding pathogenesis-related proteins that arises as a result of the perceived abiotic stress which is known as hermosis (Calabrese et al., 1987; Obande et al., 2011). Phytoalexin accumulation is associated with the inducible defense such as cell wall degradation, defense enzymes and antioxidant activity

*Corresponding author. E-mail: csnsys@ku.ac.th. Tel: +66-811435586.

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(Gonzlez-Aguilar et al., 2007). Barka et al. (2000) suggested that the radiation with hormic dose lowered the lipid peroxidation markers and softening in tomato fruit which might be related to the activation of an ant oxidative enzyme and the inhibition of cell wall enzyme activities. Obande et al. (2011) reported that preharvest UV-C treatment maintained firmness and induced pathogen resistance in postharvest tomatoes fruit. Moreover, the effect of UV-C treatment on enhancing antioxidant capacity and antioxidant enzymes has been reported in strawberry fruit (Erkan et al., 2008) and fresh-cut mangoes (Gonzlez-Aguilar et al., 2007). Yellow bell pepper (Capsicum annum L.) is one of the rich sources of bioactive compounds, especially, carotenoids and vitamin C (Howard et al., 2000; Antoniali et al., 2007; Sakalda and Kayna, 2010) and contains moderate to high level of phenolics and flavonoids contents (Hasler, 1998; Howard et al., 2000). The main factors affecting postharvest quality of bell pepper are shriveling, decay development and chilling injury (at the temperature below 7 to 10 (Vicente et al., 2008; C) Sakalda and Kayna, 2010). Previous works had reported the use of UV-C irradiation to reduce decay, chilling injury incidence, and to maintain firmness of bell pepper fruits (Vicente et al., 2008; Sakalda and Kayna, 2010). Andrade et al. (2011) had reported that UV-C treatment is a potential alternative to prevent chilling injury and weight loss in red pepper of which these might be related to increased antioxidant enzyme activities. However, little information is available on the effect of UV-C treatment on bioactive compounds in yellow bell pepper. Therefore, the aim of this work was to investigate the effect of UV-C illumination on postharvest quality attributes and the changes in bioactive compounds, including antioxidant capacity, total phenol (TP), total flavonoid (TF) and ascorbic acid (AsA) contents and the activities of antioxidant enzymes in yellow bell pepper during refrigerated storage.
MATERIALS AND METHODS Plant materials

for 15 days. Ten replications (20 fruits) were used to determined weight loss, texture, electrolyte leakage (EL), tristimulus color. Given the reduced weight loss, reduced EL increase and maintained firmness of the 6.6 KJ m-2 UV-C illumination (as shown in result) and this condition was chosen to investigate bioactive compounds such as antioxidant capacity, TC, TP, TF, AsA contents and the activities of antioxidant enzymes, namely catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD), guaiacol peroxidase (G-POD) and ascorbate peroxidase (AsA-POD) in the yellow bell pepper fruit compared to the untreated fruit. On each sampling day, fruit was analyzed immediately or otherwise cut, frozen and stored at -80C until use. Five replications of samples were used in the course of the experiment.

Weight loss, firmness, electrolyte leakage and superficial tristimulus colour Fresh weight loss of the yellow bell pepper fruit was measured before storage and in every 3 days until the end of storage. The percentage of weight loss during storage was calculated compared to the initial weight. Texture of the fruit was determined using Effegi fruit firmness tester. The data were expressed as newton (N). The EL measurement was modified from the method described by Ergun et al. (2005). The fruit were diced by using a cork borer (8 mm diameter). Twenty discs of the fruit were put into 30 ml of 0.4 M mannitol. The conductivity of the solution was immediately measured using a conductivity meter (sensionTM5, Hatch Company, USA) and then incubated in shaking bath for 3 h at room temperature. After incubation, the sample was boiled in an autoclave for 1 h at 121C and the conductivity was again measured. The EL was expressed as percentage of tissue EL. Superficial tristimulus colour was determined using a HunterLab MiniScan@XE Plus (Hunter Associates Laboratory Inc., USA). The tristimulus colour was present as lightness (L*value) and yellowness (b*value). Measurements were performed in triplicate. Total carotenoid content Total carotenoid content of the yellow bell pepper fruit was determined using method as described by Hornero-Mendez and Miguez-Mosquera (2001). Ten grams of the yellow bell pepper fruit were extracted with acetone using a homogenizer. Samples were centrifuged at 12,000 g for 10 min at 4 The pellet was again C. extracted until no colour. The supernatants were collected and brought to 100 ml with acetone. Absorbance at 472 nm was recorded. The results were expressed as OD472 kg-1 of fruit. Total flavonoid content

Yellow bell pepper fruit (C. annuum L.) were obtained from a commercial grower in Sakon Nakhon province, Thailand. The fruit were harvested at the maturity of 60 days after full bloom (mature green stage) and screened for uniformity that is, being free from physical damages and diseases. The fruit were then delivered to Plant Physiology Laboratory at Faculty of Natural Resources and Agro-Industry, Kasetsart University in 1 h after being harvested. The fruits were immediately cleaned using tap water and air-dried. Two fruits were packed in a foam tray. For UV-C illumination, the bell pepper trays were placed into a box (1.32 m length, 1.85 m wide and 0.8 m deep) containing two germicidal UV lamps (TUV, 30W, Salvania, Japan) and were irradiated at distance of 70 cm for 30, 60 and 90 min to obtain dosages of 2.2, 4.4 and 6.6 kJ m-2, respectively. Each fruit was rotated manually two times to ensure uniform surface exposure to UV light. Non-illuminated yellow bell pepper fruit were considered as the control. After treatment, the fruit tray was wrapped with PVC cling film and then stored at 12 1 C

The TF content was determined using a method described by Jia et al. (1999). Five grams of the yellow bell pepper tissue were extracted with a 25 ml of 80% methanol and 0.5% sodium bisulfate and then centrifuged at 1200 g for 10 min at room temperature. The reaction was begun when a 0.25 ml of the extract or catechin standard solution mixed with 1.25 ml of distilled water, 75 l of 0.5% NaNO2. The mixture was left for 6 min and then 150 l of 10% AlCl36H2O was added and allowed to stand for 5 min. After that, 0.5 mL of 1 M NaOH was added. The absorbance of the mixture was measured at 510 nm. The data were expressed as g catechin equivalents (CE) per 100 g fresh weight of fruit (FW). Total phenol content Two grams of the yellow bell pepper fruit tissue was homogenized

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with 20 ml of cold distilled water and then centrifuged at 12000 g for 10 min at room temperature. TP content was monitored using the method as described by Slinkard and Singleton (1977). 1 ml of the supernatant was added to the solution of 1 ml 50% (v/v) FolinCiocalteu reagent solution and 2 ml saturated Na2 CO3 solution. The mixture was left at room temperature for 30 min. The absorbance at 750 nm was recorded using a spectrophotometer. A standard curve of gallic acid (GA) solution was used to quantify the TP content. TP content of the yellow bell pepper fruit was expressed in term of g GA per 100 g FW. Ascorbic acid content measurement Five grams of the yellow bell pepper fruit were homogenized with 20 ml of cold 5% metaphosphoric acid and then centrifuged at 12000 g for 15 min at 4C. The AsA content was assayed according to the method of Hashimoto and Yamafuji (2001). A 0.8 mL of supernatant was mixed with 0.4 ml of 2% di-indophenol. Then, 0.8 ml of 2% thiourea and 0.2 ml of 1% dinitrophenol hydrazine were added into the mixture and the mixtures were then incubated at 37 for 3 h. After incubation, 1 ml of 85% sulfuric acid C was added and the mixture was again incubated at ambient temperature for 30 min. Absorbance at 540 nm were recorded. The AsA content was expressed as mg AsA per 100 g FW. Antioxidant capacity measurement

(2011). The reaction mixture of guaiacol-POD contained 600 l of 0.5% (v/v) guaiacol, 500 l of enzyme extract and 1.6 ml phosphate buffer (pH 7.0). The reaction started when 300 l of 0.059 M H2O2 was added. Enzyme activity was determined by monitoring the increase in the absorbance at 470 nm. The unit of the enzyme activity was expressed as the OD per min per g FW. The mixture of AsA-POD consisted of 600 l of 5 mM sodium ascorbate, 500 l of enzyme extract and 1.6 ml of phosphate buffer (pH 7.0) and the reaction began when 300 l of H2 O2 was added. The absorbance at 290 nm due to the oxidation of ascorbate and the enzyme activity unit was expressed as the amount of enzyme that oxidized 0.01 mmol ascorbate per minute per g FW.

Statistical analysis The Complete Randomized Design (CRD) was used in the experiment. Five replicates of 2 fruits were evaluated. Statistical analysis was carried out using the analysis of variances (ANOVA) performed in SAS software program. The treatment means were separated using the least significant difference (LSD) method at a significance level of p 0.05. Data are shown as mean standard error (S.E.).

RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS Weight loss and firmness

Two grams of the bell pepper was homogenized with 20 ml of cold distilled water and then centrifuged at 4000 g for 15 min. The supernatant was collected and kept in ice bath. Ferric reducing antioxidant potential (FRAP) was assayed using the method described by Benzie and Strain (1996). FRAP reagent was a mixture of 25 ml acetate and buffer pH 3, 2.5 ml and 10 mM 2, 4, 6trioyridyl-1, 3, 5-triazine (TPTZ) and 2.5 ml 20 mM ferric chloride hexahydrate. The reaction was started when 0.3 ml of the supernatant was added into 3 ml of FRAP solution. The mixture was incubated at room temperature for 30 min and then absorbance measured at 630 nm using a spectrophotometer. Antioxidant capacity was expressed as mole Trolox equivalents (TE) per 100 g FW.

Activities of antioxidant enzymes measurements CAT (EC 1.11.1.6) activities were assayed at 25 2C, following the method described by Andrade et al. (2011). CAT activity was determined by monitoring the decomposition of H2O2 at 410 nm. The reaction mixture (1 ml) contained 0.1 M phosphate buffer (pH 7.0), 0.15 mM H2O2 and 250 l of the extract. Aliquots of 150 l of the reaction mixture were taken at 0, 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, 2.5, 3.0 and 5.0 min and then added to the test tubes containing 300 l of 00.2 M TiCl4, 200 l of conc. H2SO4 and 1.35 of distilled water. The absorbance at 410 nm was recorded. One unit of CAT activity and enzyme activity unit (EAU), was defined as the amount of enzyme consuming of H2O2 per min. SOD (EC 1.15.1.1) activity was measured using a modification of the method of Ukeda et al. (1997). The reaction mixture contained 50 mM sodium phosphate buffer (pH 8.0), 3 mM xanthine, 3 mM EDTA, 0.75 mM XTT (2, 3bis(2-methoxy-4-nitro-5-sulfophenyl)-2H-tetrazolium-5carboxanilide), and 0.14 units of xanthine oxidase. Activity was determined by monitoring the reduction rate of XTT at 470 nm, using mixtures with and without the enzyme extract. The unit of SOD was defined as the amount of enzyme that produced halfmaximal inhibition. The assay of G-POD (EC 1.11.1.7) and AsA-POD (EC 1.11.1.11) activities was modified from the method described by Andrade et al.

Fresh weight and firmness were recognized as the main factors affecting quality attributes of fresh commodities. The results in Figure 1A showed that the weight loss of the yellow bell pepper fruit increased continuously throughout storage in all treatments. UV-C illumination reduced the increase in loss when compared to the control fruit. The yellow bell pepper fruit illuminated with 2.2 and 4.4 KJ m-2 UV-C showed weight loss slightly lower than the control fruit. The weight loss of the fruit illuminated with an UV-C dose of 6.6 KJ m-2 was significantly lower than that of other treatments (p < 0.05). In the same context, UV-C illumination inhibited the loss of firmness, as shown in Figure 1B. A marked loss of firmness was shown in the control fruit. The yellow bell -2 pepper fruit illuminated with 2.2 and 4.4 KJ m UV-C showed a slight decrease in firmness over storage whilst the firmness of 6.6 KJ m-2 UV-C treated fruit remained constant over storage at 12 1 for 15 days and the C data were significantly higher than that of the control fruit (p < 0.05). It is widely accepted that the increase in weight loss is related to the reduction of tissue turgor pressure which could lead to the loss of firmness. Wills et al. (2007) suggested that 4 to 6% weight loss in fresh commodities led to shriveled fruit and commercial value loss. The results showed that the weight loss of the control fruit at day 15 reached to 5.5% and the firmness markedly decreased when compared to the UV-C illuminated fruit. These suggest that UV-C illumination effectively reduced the losses of fresh weight and firmness of the yellow bell pepper fruit during storage. Similar results have also been reported in tomato fruit (Barka et al., 2000; Liu et

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m-2 m-2

-2 m-2 m-2 m-2

Figure 1. Weight loss (A) and firmness (B) of untreated and UV-C treated yellow bell pepper fruit stored at 12 1 for 15 days. Data are the mean of five replications and vertical bars represent C standard error.

al., 2009; Obande et al., 2011), red pepper fruit (cv. Zafiro) (Vincente et al., 2005), kiwifruit (Bal and Kok, 2009) and strawberry fruit (Erkan et al., 2008). Andrade et al. (2011) had also reported that UV-C treatment inhibited the increase in weight loss of red pepper fruit during storage. The higher values of firmness detected in the UV-C illuminated fruit were associated with the effect of UV-C on the reduction of cell wall degrading enzymes activity as described by Barka et al. (2000) and Steven et al. (2004). Lower weight loss and higher firmness of the -2 fruit treated with 6.6 KJ m UV-C might be related with the prevention of cell membrane dysfunctions as the

lower electrolyte leakage was detected when compared to the untreated fruit (Figure 2). Supapvanich and Tucher (2012) suggested that the loss of fresh weight and firmness in melon fruit were positively associated with the increase in electrolyte leakage of tissue. Electrolyte leakage The increases in EL were observed in both control and UV-C illuminated fruit throughout storage (Figure 2). The UV-C illuminated fruits showed lower EL than the control

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-2 m-2 m

-2 m-2 m m-2 m-2

Figure 2. Electrolyte leakage (EL) of untreated and UV-C treated yellow bell pepper fruit stored at 12 1 for C 15 days. Data are the mean of five replications and vertical bars represent standard error.

fruit over storage. The least EL was found in the fruit illuminated with an UV-C dose of 6.6 KJ m-2. The results also showed that the increase in EL was concomitant with the reduction of firmness and the increase in weight loss as shown in Figure 1. UV-C illumination was able to reduce the increase in EL of yellow bell pepper fruit which a similar result had been reported in red pepper treated with UV-C (Vincente et al., 2005). This could be explained that UV-C light induces biological stress and defense mechanism (Mercier, 1997) and prevents membrane damages by inducing polyamines accumulation in plant tissue (Gonzlez-Aguilar et al., 2004). Superficial tristimulus colour No differences in both L* and b* values were found between the control and UV-C illuminated fruits (Figure 3). L* value remained constant whilst a slight increase in b* value was detected in all treatments during storage for 15 days. UV-C illumination had no effect on change in tristimulus colour of the yellow bell pepper fruit throughout storage. A similar result has been reported in red pepper cv. Zafiro (Vincente et al., 2005) and tomatoes cv. Red Ruby (Liu et al., 2009) UV-C illumination

illumination shows no effect on colour changes during storage. Arts-Hernndez et al. (2010) had also reported that the interaction among UV-C doses and storage time was not significant for L* value of fresh-cut watermelon fruit. The results showed that the 6.6 KJ m-2 UV-C illuminated fruit had lower weight loss and EL and higher firmness when compared to other treatments; the bioactive compounds in the yellow bell pepper fruit were also investigated. Total carotenoid content The TC content of the yellow bell fruit increased continuously with storage time (Figure 4). UV-C illumination enhanced TC content in the yellow bell pepper fruit. Just after UV-C irradiation, there was no difference in the TC content compared to the control fruit. After 9 days, TC content of the UV-C illuminated fruit showed significantly higher than that of the control fruit until the end of storage (15 days) (p < 0.05). It is widely recognized that the increase in TC content was concomitant with the increase in b* value (Figure 3B) and nutritional values as it is the sources of vitamin A and has a role in antioxidant defense. Interestingly, the yellowness of the bell pepper

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m-2 m-2

Figure 3. Changes in lightness (L* value) (A) and yellowness (b* value) (B) of untreated and UV-C treated yellow bell pepper fruit stored at 12 1 for 15 days. Data are the mean of five replications C and vertical bars represent standard error.

slightly increased and there was no significant differences between UV-C illuminated fruit and the control fruit, whereas, TC content of the UV-C treated fruit was higher than that of the control fruit. The result showed the contrast compared to the previous works. Vincente et al. (2005) had reported that UV-C illumination lowered TC content in red pepper fruit when compared to the untreated fruit. Liu et al. (2009) also reported that lycopene content, known as a carotenoid compounds, in Red ruby tomato fruit was enhanced by UV-C light whilst -carotene was not affected. However, this result

shows that UV-C illumination induced the accumulation of TC content in yellow pepper fruit. Ascorbic acid, total flavonoid and total phenols contents As shown in Figure 5A and 5C, AsA and TP contents -2 from the yellow bell pepper fruit illuminated with 6.6 kJ m UV-C and the control fruits seemed constant during 15 days storage period. However, the UV-C illuminated fruit

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m-2
Figure 4. Total carotenoid (TC) content of untreated and UV-C treated yellow bell pepper fruit stored at 12 1 for 15 days. Data are the mean of five replications and vertical bars represent standard error. C

showed slightly higher in both AsA and TP contents than the control fruit. An increase in TF content was found in both the UV-C illuminated and the control fruits on day 3 (Figure 5B). A decrease in the compound of the control was detected on day 6 and then continuously increased over storage whilst that of the UV-C illuminated fruit was found on day 9 and again increased over storage. At day 3 and 6 of storage, TF content of the UV-C illuminated fruit was significantly higher than that of the control (p < 0.05). After that, no significant difference was found until the end of storage period. Flavonoids, phenols compounds and AsA are important nutrients found in fruit and vegetables. These compounds act in plants as antioxidants and antimicrobials (Iwashina, 2003) and also produce the beneficial effects by scavenging free radicals in human beings (Chun et al., 2003). Previous works reported that UV-C application increased the accumulation of AsA content (Nasibi and M-Kalantari, 2005; Martnez et al., 2005; Andrade et al., 2011), TF, and TP compounds (Nigro et al., 2000; Gonzlez-Aguilar et al., 2007). Although, no different levels of both AsA and TP contents in both the UV-C illuminated and the control fruits were found in this study, both compounds of UV-C illuminated fruit showed slightly higher than those of the control fruit. Nigro et al. (2000) addressed that the increase in phenols of strawberry fruit treated with UV-C was related to the increment of

phenylalanine ammonia-lyase activity (PAL), a key enzyme in the phenol biosynthesis, Arts-Hernndez et al. (2010) suggested that UV-C did not significantly affect the vitamin C content in fresh-cut watermelon. Burana and Srilaong (2009) reported that UV-C irradiation reduced the loss of AsA content in Chinese kale during storage. In contrast, a negative effect on the maintenance of AsA by UV-C illumination was found in fresh-cut mango fruit which due to the oxidation of AsA (GonzlezAguilar et al., 2007). The induction of TF content in yellow bell pepper fruit by UV-C illumination is shown in this work. In agreement with this result, in vegetables such as broccoli florets and bean leaves and fresh-cut mango fruit, TF content was enhanced after UV-C illumination (Costa et al., 2006; Gonzlez-Aguilar et al., 2007). Kucera et al. (2003) had explained that the induction of TF is supported by the hypothesis of the existence of different UV-signaling pathways in plant tissues. Antioxidant capacity As shown in Figure 6, antioxidant capacity was expressed as TE values in yellow bell pepper fruit. Just after UV-C illumination, the amount of antioxidant capacity of the UV-C treated fruit was similar to the control fruit. The antioxidant capacity of the control fruit remained

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Figure 5. Ascorbic acid (AsA) (A), total flavonoid (TF) (B) and total phenol (TP) (C) contents of untreated and UV-C treated yellow bell pepper fruit stored at 12 1 for 15 days. Data are the mean C of five replications and vertical bars represent standard error.

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m-2
Figure 6. Total antioxidant capacity of untreated and UV-C treated yellow bell pepper fruit stored at 12 1 C for 15 days. Data are the mean of five replications and vertical bars represent standard error.

constant over 15 days of storage whilst that of UV-C illuminated fruit increased until day 6 and then remained constant. UV-C illuminated fruit was significantly higher in antioxidant capacity than the control fruit throughout storage (p < 0.05). Recently, antioxidant has been becoming an increasingly important parameter for the evaluation fresh commodity quality. Mercier (1997) addressed that UV light induces biological stress and defense mechanism including antioxidant activity in plants. In this study, we found that UV-C application enhanced antioxidant capacity in yellow bell pepper fruit when compared to the control fruit. In a similar vein, enhanced antioxidant capacity by UV light had been reported in red pepper fruit (Andrade et al., 2011), Zafiro pepper fruit (Vincent et al., 2005), tomato fruit (Barka et al., 2000), strawberry fruit (Erkan et al., 2008), broccoli florets (Costa et al., 2006) and fresh-cut mango fruit (Gonzlez-Aguilar et al., 2007). Arts-Hernndez et al. (2010) suggested that the increase in total antioxidant capacity in UV-C treated fruit was due to the combined effect of the stress induced by UV-C illumination and storage. Activities of antioxidant enzymes The activities of CAT and SOD are shown in Figure 7 and

both peroxidases activities, G-POD and AsA-POD, are shown in Figure 8. Just after UV-C illumination, all antioxidant enzyme activities were similar to the control fruit. Both CAT and SOD activities of the control fruit remained constant throughout storage (Figure 7A and B). The CAT activity of the yellow bell pepper fruit illuminated with UV-C was increased and significantly higher than the control fruit during storage for 9 days (p < 0.05). After day 9 of storage, the activity was then decreased reaching to the same level of the control fruit. The SOD activity of the UV-C illuminated fruit was markedly increased over 6 days of storage and then decreased reaching to the same level of the control at the end of storage; however, the level of SOD activity in the UV-C treated fruit was significantly higher than that of the control fruit (p < 0.05). As the results show in Figure 8A, a marked increase in G-POD activity of the UV-C illuminated fruit was found at day 3 after storage whilst that of the control fruit was found at day 6 of storage. The G-POD activity of the UVC illuminated fruit was slightly increased until day 12 of storage. Later, G-POD activity of the UV-C illuminated fruit markedly decreased. After 6 days of storage, G-POD activity of the control fruit was continuously increased over storage. However, G-POD activity of the UV-C illuminated fruit was higher than that of the control fruit for 9 days after the treatment. As the result show in Figure 8B, AsA-POD activity of both the UV-C illuminated and

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m-2
Figure 7. Catalase (CAT) (A) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) (B) activities of untreated and UV-C treated yellow bell pepper fruit stored at 12 1 for 15 days. Data are the mean of five replications and vertical bars C represent standard error.

the control fruits was increased at day 3 of storage and then slightly decreased. The UV-C treatment had higher AsA-POD activity than the control throughout storage. Reactive oxygen species are generated as a part of normal metabolism in fresh-commodities during storage or under stress condition. In order to cope with reactive

oxygen species, plants have a series of bioactive compounds including antioxidant compounds and enzymes such as CAT, SOD and PODs (Apel and Hirt, 2004). It is widely recognized that CAT, G-POD and AsA-POD are -2 for removal of H2O2 whilst SOD removes O and prevents the formation of hydroxyl radicals in plant cells

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m-2
Figure 8. Guaiacol peroxidase (G-POD) (A) and ascorbic acid peroxidase (AsA-POD) (B) activities of untreated and UV-C treated yellow bell pepper fruit stored at 12 1 for 15 days. Data are the mean of five C replications and vertical bars represent standard error.

as described in Glutathione-ascorbate cycle (Fridovich, 1986; Scandalios, 1993). In this study, we have found that UV-C illumination enhanced the activities of antioxidant enzymes including CAT, SOD, G-POD and AsA-POD activities in yellow bell pepper during storage. Mittler (2002) reported that UV-C light can induce the proliferation of peroxisomes, where CAT is present in plant cells. Andrade et al. (2011) also reported that UV-C illumination maintained CAT activity and stimulated SOD

and AsA-POD activities in red pepper rather than the control fruit during storage at chilling temperature. In a similar vein, in strawberry fruit, UV-C treatment can moderate the activities of SOD, G-POD and AsA-POD compared to the control fruit (Erkan et al., 2008; Pombo et al., 2011). In Chinese kale, UV-C irradiation also activated antioxidant enzymes activities including CAT, SOD and POD. Thus, increased activities of these antioxidant enzymes may be associated with the increased

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antioxidant capacity as shown in Figure 6. Conclusion The results showed that UV-C illumination maintained physical quality attributes of yellow bell pepper fruit by keeping firmer and lower weight loss when compared to the untreated fruit and had no effect on the changes in visual tristimulus color. A dose of UV-C light at 6.6 kJ m-2 showed the best result compared to other treatments. The yellow bell pepper fruit illuminated with 6.6 kJ m-2 UV-C showed higher TC, TF, antioxidant capacity and the activities of antioxidant enzymes including CAT, SOD, G-POD and AsA-POD than the control fruit. Whereas, TP and AsA contents of UV-C treated illuminated fruit remained constant and was slightly higher than those of the control fruit over storage. These showed that UV-C is an effective non-chemical treatment to maintain physical quality and enhance nutritional quality, especially, bioactive compounds, of yellow bell pepper fruit during storage. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT The authors are grateful to Postharvest Technology Innovation Center, Commission on Higher Education, Bangkok, for providing grants.
REFERENCES Andrade Cuvi M J, Vincente AR, Concelln A, Chaves AR (2011). Changes in red pepper antioxidants as affected by UV-C treatments and storage at chilling temperature. LWT-Food Sci. Technol. 44:1666-1671. Antoniali S, Martins Leal PA, de Magalhes AM, Fuziki RT, Sanches J (2007). Physico-chemical characterization of Zarco HS yellow bell pepper for different ripeness stages. Scientia Agricola (Piracicaba, Brazil), 64(1):19-22 Apel K, Hirt H (2004). Reactive oxygen species: metabolism, oxidative stress, and signal transduction. Ann. Rev. Plant Biol. 55:373-399. Arts-Hernndez F, Robles PA, Gmez PA, Toms-Callejas A, Arts F (2010). Low UV-C illumination for keeping overall quality of fresh-cut watermelon. Postharvest Biol. Technol. 55:114-120. Bal E, Kok D (2009). Effect of UV-C treatment on kiwifruit quality during the storage period. J. Cent. Eur. Agric. 10:375-382. Barka E A, Kalantari S, Makhlouf J, Arul J (2000). Impact of UV-C irradiation on the cell-wall degrading enzymes during ripening of tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum L.) fruit. J. Agric. Food Chem. 48:667-671. Benzie IFF, Strain JJ (1996). The ferric reducing ability of plasma (FRAP) as a measure of Antioxidant power: The FRAP assay. Anal. Biochem. 239:70-76. Burana C, Srilaong V (2009). Effect of UV-C irradiation on antioxidant activities in chinese kale (Brassica oleracea var. Alboglabra). Agric. Sci. J. 40(Suppl.):137-140 Calabrese EJ, McCarthy ME, Kenyon E (1987). The occurrence of chemically induced homesis. Health Phys. 52:532-541. Chun OK, Kim DO, Lee CY (2003). Superoxide radical scavenging activity of the major polyphenol in fresh plums. J. Agric. Food Chem., 51:8067-8072. Costa L, Vincente AR, Cevillo PM, Chaves AR, Gonzlez-Aguilar GA

(2006). UV-C treatment delays postharvest senescence in broccoli florets. Postharvest Biol. Technol. 39:204-210. Erkan M, Wang SY, Wang CY (2008). Effect of UV treatment on antioxidant capacity, antioxidant enzyme activity and decay in strawberry fruit. Postharvest Biol. Technol. 48:163-171. Fridovich I (1986). Superoxide dismutase. Adv. Enzymol. 58:62-67. Gonzlez-Aguilar GA, Wang CY, Buta JG (2004). UV-C irradiation reduces breakdown and chilling injury of peaches during cold storage. J. Sci. Food Agric. 84:415-422. Gonzlez-Aguilar GA, Zavaleta-Gatica R, Tiznado-Hernndez ME (2007). Improving postharvest quality of mango Haden by UV-C treatment. Postharvest Biol. Technol. 45:108-116. Hasler CM (1998). Functional foods: their role in disease prevention and health. Food Technol. 52:6369. Hashimoto S, Yamafuji K (2001). The determination of diketo-L-gulonic acid, dehydro-L-ascorbic acid, and L-ascorbic acid in the same tissue extract by 2,4-dinitrophenol hydrazine method. J. Biol. Chem. 147:201-208. Hornero-Mndez D, Miguez-Mosquer, MI (2001). Rapid spectrophotometric determination of red and yellow isochromic carotenoid fractions in paprika and red pepper oleoresins. J. Agric. Food Chem. 49:3584-3588. Howard LR, Talcott ST, Brenes CH, Villalon B (2000). Changes in phytochemical and antioxidant activity of selected pepper cultivars (Capsicum species) as influenced by maturity. J. Agric. Food Chem. 48:17131720. Iwashina T (2003). Flavonoid function and activity to plants and other organisms. Biol. Sci. Space 17:24-44. Jia Z, Tang M, Wu J (1999). The determination of flavonoid contents in mulberry and their scavenging effects on superoxide radical. Food Chem. 64:555-559. Kucera B, Leubner-Metzger G, Wellmann E (2003). Distinct ultravioletsignaling pathways in bean leaves. DNA damage is associated with -1,3,-glucanase gene induction, but not with flavonoid formation. Plant Physiol. 133:1445-1452. Liu LH, Zabaras D, Bennett LE, Aguas P, Woonton BW (2009). Effects of UV-C, red light and sun light on the carotenoid content and physical qualities of tomatoes during post-harvest storage. Food Chem. 115:495-500. Martnez S, Lpez M, Gonzlez-Raurich M, Bernardo Alvarez A (2005). The effect of ripening stage and processing systems on vitamin C content in sweet peppers (Capsicum Annuum L.). Int. J. Food Sci. Nutr. 56:45-51. Mercier J (1997). Role of phytoalexins and other antimicrobial compounds from fruits and vegetables in postharvest disease resistance. In: FA Thomas-Barbern, RJ Robins (eds) Photochemistry of fruit and vegetables, pp. 221-241. C.H.I.P.S., Neimer, Texas. Mittler R (2002). Oxidative stress, antioxidants, and stress tolerance. Trends Plant Sci. 7:405-410. Nigro F, Ippolito A, Lattanzio V, Di-Venere D, Salerno M (2000). Effect of ultraviolet-C light on postharvest decay of strawberry. J. Plant Pathol. 82:29-37. Nasibi F, M-Kalantari K H (2005). The effects of UV-A, UV-B and UV-C on protein and ascorbate content, lipid peroxidation and biosynthesis of screening compounds in Brassica napus. Iranian J. Sci. Technol. Transac. 29:39-48. Obande MA, Tucker GA, Shama G (2011). Effect of preharvest UV-C treatment of tomatoes (Salanum lycopersicon Mill.) on ripening and pathogen resistance. Postharvest Biol. Technol. 62:188-192. Pombo MA, Rosli HG, Martnez GA, Civello PM (2011). UV-C treatment affects the expression and activity of defense genes in strawberry fruit (Fragaria x ananassa, Duch.). Postharvest Biol. Technol. 59:94102. Sakalda M, Kayna K (2010). Biochemical and quality parameters changes of green sweet bell peppers as affected by different postharvest treatments. Afr. J. Biotech., 9(48):8174-8181. Scandalios JG (1993). Oxygen stress and superoxide dismutase. Plant Physiol. 101:7-12. Shama G (2007). Process challenges in applying low doses of ultraviolet light to fresh produce for eliciting beneficial hormetic responses. Postharvest Biol. Technol. 44:1-8.

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Slinkard K, Singleton VL (1977). Total Phenol Analysis: Automation and comparison with manual methods. Am. J. Enol. Viticult. 28(1):49-55. Stevens C, Liu J, Khan VA, Lu JY, Kabwe MK, Wilson CL (2004). The effect of low-dose ultraviolet light-C treatment on polygalacturonase activities delay ripening and Rhizopus soft rot development of tomatoes. Crop Protect. 23:551-554. Supapvanich S, Tucker GA (2012). The effect of 1-methylcyclopropene (1-MCP) on quality and cell wall hydrolases activities of fresh-cut muskmelon (Cucumis melo var reticulatus L.) during storage. Food Bioprocess Tech. DOI 10.1007/s11947-011-0776-3 (online available). Ukeda H, Maeda S, Ishii T, Sawamura M (1997). Spectrophotometric assay for superoxide dismutasebased on tetrazolium salt 3-{1[phenylamino)-carbonyl] -3, 4-tetrazolium} bis(4-methoxy-6nitro)benzensulfonic acid hydrate reduction by xanthine-xanthine oxidase. Ann. Rev. Biochem. 251:206-209.

Vincente AR, Pineda C, Lemoine L, Civello PM, Martinez GA, Chaves AR (2005). UV-C treatments reduce decay, retain quality and alleviate chilling injury in pepper. Postharvest Biol. Technol. 35:69-78. Wills RB H, McGlasson WB, Graham D, Joyce DC (2007). Postharvest, An introduction to physiology and handling of fruit, vegetables and th ornamentals, 5 edition. (p. 227). Sydney: University of New South Wales Press. Wisniewski M, Wilson C, El Ghaouth A, Droby S, Ben-Arie R, Philosoph Hadas S (2001). Non chemical approaches to postharvest disease control. Proceedings of the Fourth International Conference on Postharvest Science. Acta Hortic. 533:407-412.

African Journal of Agricultural Research Vol. 7(28), pp. 4097-4103, 24 July, 2012 Available online at http://www.academicjournals.org/AJAR DOI: 10.5897/AJAR12.402 ISSN 1991-637X 2012 Academic Journals

Full Length Research Paper

Yield and yield components in vegetable cowpea on an ultisol

Nwofia, G.E
Department of Agronomy, Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike, Nigeria. E-mail: enwofia@yahoo.co.uk.
Accepted 9 May, 2012

Field trials were conducted from 2001 to 2004 at the research farm of the Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike, South Eastern Nigeria to evaluate the yield and its components in nine vegetable cowpea cultivars. The cultivars differed significantly in yield and most of the components and the yield were not stable across the years of the study though, few cultivars seem to have stable yields. Pod yield was positively correlated with number of pods/m2, pod length and width and these attributes could serve as selection indices for this crop. Key words: Vegetable cowpea, yield, yield components. INTRODUCTION Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L. Walp) is an important food crop in West and Central Africa but until recently its cultivation is restricted to the Sahel guinea and derived savannas. In the humid forest fringes (Hff), the most widely grown varieties are the vegetable types whose immature pods are eaten by humans. The indigenous varieties are climbing and decumbent but in recent times, erect, bushy varieties have been developed (Acosta and Petrache, 1960; Redden, 1981; Mittal et al., 1980; Umaharan et al., 1997), with the objective of increasing yield. Yield in vegetable cowpea is usually defined as green pod yield expressed in kg/ha or t/ha. Braithwaite (1982) however, showed that yield expressed as the number of marketable pods/ha is of great interest to growers because the crop is sold in bundles. Yield in legumes is the result of many plant processes, which are usually expressed in yield components and this approach have been extensively used to explain variation in the yield of several grain legumes and have been shown to be affected by management, genotype and environment and can be of great help in explaining yield reduction (Garner et al., 1985; Mckenzie and Hill, 1991). The components that have been associated with yield in vegetable cowpea are pod clusters/plant (Singh and mehndirata, 1970; Khan and Stoffella, 1985); pods/cluster (Fernandez and Miller, 1985) and pod weight (Aggarwal et al., 1982; Braithwaite, 1982). Despite the importance and popularity of this nutritionally important vegetable legume, little information exists on its production and most of the information relies on work on grain cowpea and this is unsatisfactory hence, this study evaluates the yield and its component in some vegetable cowpea cultivars over a four year period.
MATERIALS AND METHODS Vegetable cowpea cultivars Seven of the vegetable cowpea cultivars used in this study was obtained from the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) Ibadan namely; IT92kD-263-4-I, IT83S-899, IT97k-147-3, IT93k-915, IT86F-2062-5, IT81D-1228-14 and IT86F-2014-1, IT86F-2014-1 is a decumbent variety while the rest are semi-erect with long peduncles protruding well over the canopy and holding the pods above the ground. The other two cultivars Akidi-ani and Akidi-enu are local cultivars which are decumbent and climbing in habit and have coiled pods. Site and soil characteristics The experiment was conducted at the research farm of the Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike (0529 N, 33 E; 122 m above sea level). The soil type was sandy clay loam with pH 4.8, 1.9% organic matter, 0.05% total N and 27 ppm phosphorus. The rainfall during the four year period of study was normal with total annual rainfall highest in 2002 and lowest in 2004 (Table 1). The site for the 2001 and 2002 experiment was under natural fallow for 2 and 3 years respectively while the 2003 experiment was repeated on the same site as used in 2002. Due to heavy disease build up on the 2003 experiment, the 2004 study was conducted on another 2 year old fallow field.

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Table 1. Mean monthly rainfall in umudike.

Month January February March April May June July August September Total 2001 0.00 7.80 175.90 224.10 194.30 522.50 273.50 179.00 317.20 1894.30

Rainfall (mm) Year 2002 2003 3.10 0.00 107.10 37.90 68.50 119.50 259.00 159.80 436.30 231.40 240.40 282.40 359.80 447.50 333.70 372.60 238.50 340.80 2046.40 1991.90

2004 0.20 11.90 22.40 134.50 217.60 279.40 309.50 304.30 324.90 1604.70

Land preparation and experimental design In each year of study, the soil was disk ploughed and harrowed and the treatments laid out in a randomized complete block design replicated three times. Six rows of the appropriate cultivar was planted on the flat on plots measuring 3 3 m at a spacing of 25 20 cm intra and inter row giving a plant population of 80,000 plants/ha. Two seeds were sown per stand on the 26th April to the 2nd of May in each year and later thinned down to one per stand at two weeks after planting (2 WAP).

RESULTS Pod yield The mean pod yield (t/ha) of the nine vegetable cowpea cultivars are presented in Table 2. Highly significant cultivars, year and cultivar year interaction effects were observed (P 0.001). Fresh pod yield ranged from 4.5 to 9.57 t/ha among the cultivars with IT 93k -915, IT86F2062-5, and IT81D- 1228-14 giving the best pod yield in the four years. The lowest yield was observed in IT92KD263-4-1 and the local cultivar Akidi-ani. Pod yield was highest in 2004 (11t/ha) than the other years while it was least in 2003 (4 t/ha) and the significant cultivars year interaction effect, suggests that pod yield among these cultivars may not be stable. Number of pods/m2 IT86F-2014-1 had the highest number of pods/m among 2 the cultivars (261 pods/m ) while the least was observed in IT 92KD-263-4-1 (70 pods/m2, Table 3). Number of pods/m2 differed significantly among the cultivars and there was a significant year and cultivars year effects (P < 0.001). The highest number of pods/m2 was observed in 2004 (229 pods/m2). The higher significant cultivars year interaction effects tend to suggest that the expression of this trait may not be independent of the environment. Number of pods/plant Number of pods/plant did not differ among the cultivars and the cultivars year interaction also were not significant (P>0.05), while the year effect was significant. Though, cultivar effect was not significant. It is quite interesting to note that the cultivar (IT 86F-2014-1) with
2

Crop management Weeding was done manually twice at 4 WAP and 8 WAP while insect infestation was controlled with cypermethrin 10 Ec at the rate of 2.5 ml/L of water at bud formation and full bloom. No fertilizer was applied to the crops in keeping with the practice of farmers in this area in the four-year period. Data collection Records on number of pods/plant were taken from six plants randomly selected in each plot while pod yield and number of pods/m2 were recorded from 1 1 m quadrat in each plot. Data on pod length, width and seeds/pod were obtained from twenty fresh pods randomly selected while seed size were obtained by weighing one hundred air dried seeds. Statistical analysis The data collected was analyzed as a split-plot in randomized complete block design. Split- plot analysis was performed to enable the estimation of cultivars, year and cultivar x year effects. The vegetable cowpea cultivars constituted the subplot while the four years of evaluation were the main plots. The analysis was done using PROC Mixed procedure (Little et al., 1996) of SAS (SAS Institute, 2001) with replicate treated as random effect and year and cultivars as the fixed effects. Mean separation was performed using the standard error while Pearson correlation coefficient between pod yield and the components was also computed using PROC CORR of SAS (SAS Institute, 2001).

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Table 2. Mean pod yield (t/ha) of nine vegetable cowpea cultivars grown on an ultisol in 2001 to 2004.

Cultivar IT92KD-263-4-1 Akidi-ani IT 83S-899 IT97K-147-3 IT93K915 IT86F-2062-5 IT81D-1228-14 IT86F-2014-1 Akidi-enu Mean

2001 5.71 4.67 5.92 12.82 6.93 9.65 7.13 8.27 8.07 7.69

Pod yield (t/ha) 2002 2003 4.06 4.89 4.03 2.27 10.42 1.88 10.97 4.1 12.51 5.1 7.32 4.64 6.87 4.16 9.63 4.34 9.36 4.48 8.35 3.98 S.E 0.82 0.55 1.65

2004 5.15 7.01 8.72 8.05 13.74 14.80 19.11 10.91 10.17 10.85 P-values 0.0001 0.0001 0.0016

Mean 4.95 4.50 6.74 8.98 9.57 9.10 9.32 8.29 8.02

Cultivars Year Cultivars x year

Table 3. Mean number of pods/m2 of nine vegetable cowpea cultivars grown on an ultisol in 2001 to 2004.

Cultivar IT92KD-263-4-1 Akidi-ani IT 83S-899 IT97K-147-3 IT93K915 IT86F-2062-5 IT81D-1228-14 IT86F-2014-1 Akidi-enu Mean

2001 89.67 158.00 113.00 182.67 94.33 155.33 132.67 266.67 226.00 157.59

Number of pods/m2 2002 2003 56.00 4.89 157.33 2.27 115.00 1.88 144.00 4.1 122.00 5.1 73.67 4.64 62.67 4.16 147.33 4.34 121.67 4.48 90.89 3.98 S.E 13.87 9.55 27.75

2004 69.00 218.67 155.33 138.00 193.00 319.00 309.67 354.67 300.00 228.63 P-values 0.0001 0.0001 0.004

Mean 70.17 150.58 103.83 145.33 121.42 167.82 142.92 261.17 213.42

Cultivars Year Cultivars x year

the highest number of pods/m2 also had the highest number of pods/plant (Table 4). Pod length and width Pod length and width differed significantly among the cultivars and there was also a significant year effect for the traits (P < 0.01). The longest pods were recorded in IT 92KD-263-4-1, IT 83S-899, IT 86F-2062-5, IT 81D1228-14 and IT 93K-915 while the shortest pods were

recorded in IT 86F-2014-1 (Table 5). The widest pods were observed in IT 92KD-263-4-1 while the narrowest pods were observed in Akidi-ani (Table 6). The significant cultivars year interaction for the traits showed that the environment may have influenced it. Number of seeds/pod Number of seeds/pod differed significantly among the cultivars and there was a significant year effect (p <0.01).

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Table 4. Mean number of pods/plant of nine vegetable cowpea cultivars grown on an ultisol in 2001 to 2004.

Cultivar IT92KD-263-4-1 Akidi-ani IT 83S-899 IT97K-147-3 IT93K915 IT86F-2062-5 IT81D-1228-14 IT86F-2014-1 Akidi-enu Mean

2001 30.89 19.61 17.33 22.92 18.83 78.58 24.00 28.08 12.75 28.11

Number of pods/plant 2002 2003 27.84 18.40 18.80 15.27 17.35 13.19 22.28 28.83 18.17 18.83 13.77 17.56 26.60 20.64 28.96 18.39 16.74 18.86 21.17 18.44 S.E 6.05 4.03 12.10

2004 47.89 56.78 39.42 25.45 37.33 40.11 59.11 82.89 51.56 48.95 P-values 0.3572 0.0001 0.2594

Mean 31.26 27.61 21.83 23.87 23.39 37.51 32.59 39.58 24.98

Cultivars Year Cultivars x year

Table 5. Mean pod length (cm) of nine vegetable cowpea cultivars grown on an ultisol in 2001 to 2004.

Cultivar IT92KD-263-4-1 Akidi-ani IT 83S-899 IT97K-147-3 IT93K915 IT86F-2062-5 IT81D-1228-14 IT86F-2014-1 Akidi-enu Mean

2001 18.05 15.77 23.14 21.52 21.84 23.02 22.87 14.22 17.33 19.75

Pod length(cm) 2002 2003 20.79 20.60 15.84 17.71 25.27 24.57 21.08 15.59 23.48 19.22 25.46 19.08 24.80 22.03 14.49 16.32 21.68 18.99 21.43 19.35 S.E 0.64 0.43 1.28

2004 27.77 16.32 19.23 21.26 21.66 19.22 23.48 12.63 17.61 19.61 P-values 0.0001 0.0059 0.0001

Mean 21.80 16.41 23.05 19.86 21.55 21.69 23.30 14.42 18.90

Cultivars Year Cultivars x year

Akidi-enu had more seeds/pod while IT 83S-899 and IT 97K-147-3 had few seeds/pod (Table 7). More seeds were produced in 2004 and it appears that the performance of the cultivars for this trait was not independent of environmental effects. Seed size Significant cultivars and year effect (P < 0.01) were observed in this trait while the interaction effect was not

significant. The biggest seeds were obtained in IT 97K147-3 (16 g/100 seeds) while the smallest was recorded in the local cultivar, Akidi-ani (8 g/100 seeds, Table 8). Correlation analysis The correlation coefficients between pod yield and other attributes in the four years of study are shown in Table 9. The result shows that number of pods/m2 was positively correlated with yield in all the years, though; it was

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Table 6. Mean pod width (cm) of nine vegetable cowpea cultivars grown on an ultisol in 2001 to 2004.

Cultivar IT92KD-263-4-1 Akidi-ani IT 83S-899 IT97K-147-3 IT93K915 IT86F-2062-5 IT81D-1228-14 IT86F-2014-1 Akidi-enu Mean

2001 3.01 2.11 3.20 2.72 3.30 2.87 3.22 2.75 2.49 2.86

Pod width (cm) 2002 2003 3.19 3.13 2.13 2.44 3.29 3.23 3.07 3.09 3.24 2.85 2.80 2.72 3.38 2.92 2.74 2.74 2.64 2.47 2.94 2.84 S.E 0.07 0.05 0.13

2004 3.40 1.92 2.33 2.61 2.53 2.36 2.74 2.00 2.11 2.43 P-values 0.0001 0.0001 0.0036

Mean 3.21 2.15 3.01 2.87 2.98 2.69 3.07 2.56 2.43

Cultivars Year Cultivars x year

Table 7. Mean number of seed/pod of nine vegetable cowpea cultivars grown on an ultisol in 2001 to 2004.

Cultivar IT92KD-263-4-1 Akidi-ani IT 83S-899 IT97K-147-3 IT93K915 IT86F-2062-5 IT81D-1228-14 IT86F-2014-1 Akidi-enu Mean

2001 14.38 14.33 11.39 9.33 12.78 12.23 11.50 13.63 17.46 13.00

Number of pods/plant 2002 2003 13.53 13.38 17.10 12.16 10.67 9.20 10.92 9.85 13.57 12.85 12.92 10.23 13.50 10.83 12.09 9.88 16.20 14.33 13.39 11.41 S.E 0.49 0.33 0.93

2004 11.27 16.33 14.25 15.93 15.75 14.13 16.73 14.77 18.30 15.28 P-values 0.001 0.001 0.0079

Mean 13.14 14.98 11.38 11.51 13.74 12.38 13.13 12.56 16.57

Cultivars Year Cultivars x year

significant only in 2004. Pods/plant was positive except in 2002 while pod length, width and seeds/pod were either positively or negatively correlated with yield in the years. Seed size was also positively correlated with pod yield. DISCUSSION Evaluation of cultivars in contrasting environments and across years is an essential step in determining their

desirability and cultivars with average response across the environments that have a wide scope of adaptation. The results obtained in this study showed highly significant cultivars, year and cultivar year effects for yield and most of the components. The best performing cultivars with regard to yield were IT 93K-915, IT86F2062-5 and IT81D-1228-4 while Akidi-ani and IT 92KD263-4-1 had low yield. The performance of the cultivars in 2003 was generally low and may be attributed to the severe disease infestation experienced in that year

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Table 8.100 seed weight (g) of nine vegetable cowpea cultivars grown on an ultisol in 2001 to 2004.

Cultivar IT92KD-263-4-1 Akidi-ani IT 83S-899 IT97K-147-3 IT93K915 IT86F-2062-5 IT81D-1228-14 IT86F-2014-1 Akidi-enu Mean

2001 14.84 8.01 11.56 15.37 14.15 12.59 10.65 9.64 11.15 11.99

100 seed weight (g) 2002 2003 13.78 14.23 8.24 7.33 15.33 12.13 16.45 14.47 16.83 15.33 13.78 13.33 12.05 9.50 10.61 10.00 9.72 9.77 12.98 11.78 S.E 0.39 0.26 0.78

2004 13.42 9.17 14.73 16.47 15.50 14.03 13.20 10.97 10.60 13.12 P-values 0.0001 0.0005 0.2190

Mean 14.07 8.19 13.44 15.69 15.45 13.41 11.35 10.30 10.31

Cultivars Year Cultivars year

Table 9. Correlation (r) coefficients between pod yield and the attributes in nine vegetable cowpea cultivars grown on an ultisol in 2001 to 2004.

Attributes Number of pods/m2 Number of pods/plant Pod length Pod width 100 seed weight Number of seeds/pod

Year 2001 0.419 0.299 0.259 -0.033 0.479 -0.475 2002 0.345 -0.235 0.259 0.383 0.57 -0.514 2003 0.526 0.598 -0.339 -0.046 0.494 0.4 2004 0.658** 0.008 -0.003 -0.069 0.158 0.373

especially, Sclerotium stem rot. This disease infestation can be attributed to the fact that the 2003 study was sited on the previous year site, so there may have been disease build up in the soil prior to planting. The fact that the cultivars year interaction were highly significant in this study and shows that there was inconsistent response to the environment by the cultivars. This shows that most of the cultivars were not stable across the years except IT 86 F-2014-1, Akidi-enu and IT 92KD-263-4-1 that had stable yield. The ability of some crop varieties to perform well over a wide range of environmental conditions has long been recognized (Finlay and Wilkinson, 1963) and yield reliability from year to year is of great interest to subsistence farmers than wide spatial adaptation (Evans, 1993; Ambrose and Hedley, 1984; Dashiell et al., 1994; Ma et al., 1998). Yield evaluation usually involves the consideration of other characters that determine the overall performance of the cultivars. This is important because yield is a quantitative trait and hence, influenced by other traits

acting singly or interacting together. In this study, IT 86 F2014-1 had the highest number of pods/m2. Number of 2 pods/m was positively correlated with pod yield. Yield variation in these cultivars was associated with significant variation in number of pods/m2. This yield component could therefore, possibly be used as a primary criterion for selection at a late stage of a breeding programme especially, in countries where vegetable cowpeas are marketed in bundles (Braithwaite, 1982). Similarly, pod length and width are important components in vegetable cowpea, as they are known to influence the pod weight and the yield in this crop. In many countries, pod length is an important criterion governing consumer acceptability of vegetable cowpea and as such a good selection indices in its breeding programmes. Number of seeds/pod was highly significant among cultivars and the years while the interaction were not significant. The non-significant interaction effect is an indication that the cultivars were consistent in their response for this trait. The local cultivar, Akidi-enu had

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more seeds/pod and this suggests that it can also be used as a grain cowpea, a practice prevalent among local farmers in Nigeria (Uguru, 1996). Seed size was positively correlated with pod yield and most of the high yielder also has the biggest seeds while the low yielders have smaller seeds. The result also shows that this trait was not stable throughout the experimental period as shown by the significant interaction between cultivars year for the trait. Ayaz et al. (2004a, b) have shown that plant population influences seed size and hence, not stable. Moot and McNeil (1995) also concluded that seed size is not a reliable character to use in pea improvement due to its instability. A conclusion of this is that there are high degrees of instability in vegetable cowpea yield and yield components in this agro ecology. Irrespective of this, some of the cultivars had some degree of stable yield and number of pods/m2; pod length and width could be food selection indices in this legume.
REFERENCES Acosta JC, Petrache LW (1960). The transfer of the bushy character from cowpea to Sitao (Vigna sesquipedalis frow). Phil. Agric. 43:535537. Aggarwal VD, Natare RB, Smithson JB (1982). The relationship among yield and other characters in vegetable cowpea and the effect of different trellis management on pod yield. Trop. Grain leg. Bull. 25:814. Ambrose NJ, Hedley CL (1984). A population study to acid the selection of improved dried pea (Pisum sativum) crop plants. Ann. Bot. 53:655662. Ayaz S, Mckenzie BA, Hill GD, McNeil DL (2004a). Variability in yield of four grain legume species in a sub humid temperate environment. I. Yields and harvest index. J. Agric. Sci. Camb. 142:9-19. Ayaz S, Mckenzie BA, Hill GD and McNeil DL (2004b). Variability in yield of four grain legume species in a sub humid temperate environment. I. Yields and harvest index. J. Agric. Sci. Camb. 142:2128 Braithwaite RAI (1982). Bodie bean response to changes in plant density. Agron. J. 745:93-596. Dashiell KE, Ariyo OJ, Bellow L, Ojo K (1994). Genotype x environment interaction and simultaneous selection for high yield and stability in soyabeans (Glycine max (L) meir.) Ann. Appl. Biol. 124:133-139. Evans LT (1993). Crop evolution, adaptation and yield. Camb. Univ. Press, p. 500. Fernandez GCJ, Miller JC Jr. (1985). Yield component analysis of five cowpea cultivars. J. Am. Soc. Hort. Sci. 110(4):553-554. Finlay KW, Wilkinson GN (1963). The analysis of adaptation in plant breeding programme. Aust. J. Agric. Res. 14:742-745. Garner FP, Pearce RB, Mitchell RL (1985). Physiology of crop plants. Ames, IA : Iowa State Uni., Press. Khan BA, Stoffella PJ (1985). Yield components of cowpeas grown in two environments. Crop Sci. 25:179-182. Little RC, Milliken GA, Stroup WW, Wolfinger RD (1996). SAS systems for mixed models. Statistical Analysis Systems Inc. Cary, NC, USA, p. 633.

Ma Q, Longnecker N, Emery N, Alkins C (1998). Growth and yield in Lupinus angustifolius are depressed by early transient nitrogen deficiency. Aust. J. Agric. Res. 49:811-819. McKenzie BA, Hill GD (1991). Intercepted radiation and yield of lentils (Lens culinaris Medik) in Canterbury, New Zealand. J. Agric. Sci. Camb. 117:339-346. Mittal SP, Dabas BS, Thomas TA (1980). Evaluation of germplasm of vegetable cowpea for selecting desirable stocks. Indian J. Agric. Sci. 50:323-326. Moot DJ, McNeil DL (1995). Yield components, harvest index and plant type in relation to yield difference in field pea genotypes. Euphy 86:31-40. Redden RJ (1981). Vegetable cowpea breeding at the IITA. Trop. Grain Leg. Bul. 23:6-10. Singh KB, Mehndiratta PD (1970). Path analysis and selection indices in cowpea. Indian J. Gent. Plant Breed. 30:471-475. Uguru MI (1996). A note on the Nigerian vegetable cowpea. Gen. Res. Crop Evol. 43:125-126. Umaharan P, Ariyanayagam RP, Haque SQ (1997). Genetic analysis of yield and its components in vegetable cowpea (Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp). Euphy 96:207-213.

African Journal of Agricultural Research Vol. 7(28), pp. 4104-4109, 24 July, 2012 Available online at http://www.academicjournals.org/AJAR DOI: 10.5897/AJAR11.2029 ISSN 1991-637X 2011 Academic Journals

Full Length Research Paper

Evaluation of some morphological traits associated with wheat yield under terminal drought stress
Farzad Aslani1*, Mohammad Reza Mehrvar2 and Abdul Shukor Juraimi3
1,3

Department of Crop Science, Faculty of Agriculture, University Putra Malaysia 43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia. 2 Physiology-Agronomy Unit of Department of Cereals Research, Seed and Plant Improvement Institute, P.O. Box 31585-4119, Karaj., Iran.
Accepted 5 June, 2012

This study was carried out at the Seed and Plant Improvement Institute, Karaj (Iran) in 2007/2008 and 2008/2009 growing seasons to investigate the effects of two irrigation regimes (normal irrigation and no irrigation in post-anthesis growth stage) on grain yield of eight wheat cultivars (DM-81-6, DM-82-1, Bahar, DN-11, DN-7, Pishtaz, WS-82-9, and C-85-6). According to the results of variance analysis, it is clear that there is a significant difference among the testing cultivars in grain yield and yield components. It is a result of difference in grain yield reduction among genotypes under different irrigation regimes. DN-11 Genotype produced the highest grain yield under both irrigation regimes. The yield reduction of Bahar genotype was the highest under drought stress conditions. Based upon the result of stepwise regression analysis, the most important yield components were biological yield, harvest index, and 1000 grain yield. Key words: Wheat, terminal drought stress, grain yield, components yield, stepwise regression. INTRODUCTION Dryness is the most important factor limiting the production of crops in the world Middle East, especially in semiarid Mediterranean (Samarah et al., 2009) such as Iran. This topic is more important in dry and semi-arid regions of the world (Kirigwi at al., 2004). Drought stress depends not only on the duration and intensity of water stress, but also on the developmental phase at which the stress was imposed. Drought stress at the grain filling period dramatically reduces grain yield (Ehdaie and Shakiba, 1996; Samarah et al., 2009; Alqudah et al., 2011). Since dry matter production after heading is the main source of grain yield in wheat (Saidi et al., 2008). This stage of plant growth has a critical importance in terms of drought (Alqudah et al., 2011). Selection of plant species with drought resistance has been considered to be an economic and efficient means of alleviating agricultural problems in dry areas (Ashraf et al., 1992). However, there is limited insight into the physiological basis of wheat drought resistance. A better understanding of the mechanisms that enable wheat plants to adapt to water stress and maintain growth, development and productivity during stress periods would help in breeding for drought resistance (Seropian and Planchon, 1984). Reduction in yield and yield component due to water stress has been reported in both durum and bread wheat (Singh et al., 1986). Samara et al. (2009), studied the effect of late terminal drought stress on barley growth, yield and physiology, and they found that drought stress during grain filling period reduced grain yield by 73 to 87%, together with all the grain yield components. Barley grain yield under severe drought stress was positively correlated with grain filling duration and gross photosynthetic rate and negatively correlated with leaf water potential (Samarah et al., 2009). Reduction in crop yield under drought stress could be due to the accelerated days to flowering, shorter grain filling duration, lower accumulation of dry matter or by increase in the number of sterile floret and spike (Alqudah et al., 2011). Although, the best option for crop production, yield

*Corresponding author. E-mail: aslani.farzad.1362@gmail.com.

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improvement, and yield stability under soil moisture deficient conditions is to develop drought tolerant crop varieties (Siddique et al., 2000). In future years, breeding programs must consider and select from improved water use efficiency in newly released varieties. In this regard, screening for more drought tolerant wheat varieties, which are able to produce an acceptable yield under one or two irrigations after rainfall ceases in spring, has became a new strategy in cereal breeding research programs. To date, no variety has been released in this way, hence, recent efforts have commenced during the last few years (Najafian, 2003). The main objective of this study was to determine the effect of terminal drought stress on yield and yield components of eight wheat cultivars and to study different traits related to yield under terminal drought stress conditions.
MATERIALS AND METHODS This study was carried out at the Seed and Plant Improvement Institute, Karaj (Iran) in 2007/2008 and 2008/2009 growing seasons. Drought tolerance of eight genotypes of wheat was evaluated to study yield and yield components under terminal drought stress condition. Experimental design was split plot, based on randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replications. The main plots were allocated to irrigation regimes (normal irrigation, where the plots were irrigated 6 times (50 mm per time) and no irrigation in post-anthesis growth stage (70 of the Zadoks), while the sub-plots were assigned for wheat cultivars (DM81-6, DM-82-1, Bahar, DN-11, DN-7, Pishtaz, WS-82-9, and C-856). Each experimental unit consisted of three rows with distances of 20 cm and lengths of 6 m. All plants of 6 m2 area of each plot were harvested at maturity and for each treatment at each replicate. Grain weighed after drying for 48 h at 75C provide grain yield in ton ha1 at 14% moisture. Thousand grain weight was measured by using a Contador seed counter (Pfeuffer GmbH, Kitzingen, Germany). To determine the number of spikes per unit area and grains number per unit area, spikes of harvested area of each plot were counted. Biological yield was measured by harvesting the genotypes from the lowest part of the stem in each plot and the total aboveground part was weighed and converted to ton ha-1. Harvest index was calculated as the ratio of grain weight to total sun-dried weight aboveground (grain yield + straw yield) 100. Data were analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS)-17 software program for analysis of variance (ANOVA). The means were compared by Duncans multiple range method at 0.05 probability level. Correlation between grain yield and yield components was estimated by CORR PROC of SAS-9.3 software program.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Within most wheat-bearing regions, especially those with Mediterranean climatic conditions, cultivating conventional wheat face drought and heat stresses during grain filling period and this terminal drought reduces grain yield in wheat (Ehdaie and Waines, 1989) and barley (Samarah et al., 2009).

The responses of eight selected wheat cultivar to terminal drought stress were evaluated. According to the results of variance analysis (Table 1), it is clear that there is a significant difference among the testing cultivars for gain yield, harvest index and 1000 grain weight in both years, but spike number per meter and grain number per meter in the second year and biological yield in both years was not affected by cultivars. Nazari and Pakniyat (2010) and Shahryari and Mollasadeghi (2011) in the investigation of wheat cultivars reported that there were significant differences for all traits among the genotype cultivars. Therefore, DN-11 with a yield equal to 7.3 ton/ha produced the highest yield, but of Bahar with a yield equal to 5.7 ton/ha shows a significant difference with DN-11 as well as the values of harvest index and 1000 grains weight with the highest for DN-11. According to Table 2 for terminal drought stress condition, grain yield, harvest index, 1000-grain weight, grain number per square meter in both years and bio-logical yield decreased only in the second year. Gupta et al. (2001) reported that during wheat anthesis period, drought stress reduced 1000 grain weight, grain yield and biological yield. Raynolds et al. (2000) reported that post anthesis drought stress reduces grain filling rate, resulting in reduction of 1000 grain weight, which is in agreement with the results of this experiment. Plaut et al. (2004) declared that weight of 1000 grains was sharply reduced by occurring drought stress in the post anthesis stage. Siddique et al. (1990) and Richards (1983) showed that in water stress conditions, the amount of harvest index depends on the amount of available water during the pollination period. Royo et al. (2000) showed that flowering-to-maturing water stress shortened the grain filling period for Triticale, therefore, decreasing the 1000 grain weight. Taheri et al. (2011) reported that during post-anthesis stage, water stress disrupted the flowing photosynthesis and transfer of stored substances into grains; this can be the cause of the decrease of weight and the number of grains. Raynolds et al. (2000) declared that terminal drought stress reduces grain filling rate, resulting in reduction of 1000 grain weight which is in agreement with the results of this experiment. The number of grains per square meter of DM-82-1 and number of spike per square meter of DN-11 cultivar were significantly higher than other wheat cultivars. Increases the number of grains per square meter is an important yield component that influences the grain yield (Calderini et al., 1999). Bahrani et al. (2009) reported that post-anthesis water deficit stress resulted in wheat grain yield reduction. Moussavi-Nik et al. (2007) working on wheat, obtained similar results where grain yield of wheat was decreased by no irrigation after pollination treatment. Grain yield showed significant correlation with the number of spikes per square meter (r = 0.34**) in the second growing year and other traits studies (Table 3).

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Table 1. Analysis of variance for studied traits.

Source of variance 2007-2008 Replication Irrigation Replication*irrigation Cultivar Cultivar*irrigation Coefficient of variation 2008-2009 Replication irrigation Replication*irrigation Cultivar Cultivar*irrigation Coefficient of variation
ns

DF

Grain yield 8.5 16.3* 1.9 2.17** 0.39 13.6

Biological yield 25.3 26.9ns 2.4 ns 31.6 12.7 15.9

Harvest index 59.3 91.1* 39.0 35.8** 14.4 14.8

Means of square 1000 grains Spike number per weight square meter 270.8 440.4** 24.6 155.8** 10.3 12.79 11868.9 38703.5ns 8793.7 57644.9* 33343.0 17.3

Grain number per square meter 79612258.4 196359272.8* 6356973.9 81127675.6* 41363239.6 15.96

2 1 2 7 7

2 1 2 7 7

1.4 125.7** 2.8 1.5* 0.47 7.5

236.6 751* 12.4 22ns 35.7 15.7

115.3 386.2* 87.2 17.1* 26.6 15.1

11.5 875.5** 4.5 78.2** 10.8 10.8

302802.5 121806.7ns 1141.9 40731.7ns 59892.2 17.5

232032758 274965280** 4534367 65545141ns 144403466 15.1

*, ** and Significant in 1 and 5% and non significant, respectively.

Table 2. Grain yield and yield components of different wheat cultivars and irrigation regimes.

Year

Cultivar DM-81-6 DM-82-1 Bahar DN-11 DN-7 Pishtaz WS-82-9 C-85-6 Normal irrigation Terminal drought stress DM-81-6 DM-82-1 Bahar DN-11 DN-7 Pishtaz WS-82-9 C-85-6 Normal irrigation Terminal drought stress

2007-2008

Grain yield (ton/ha) 5.77bc 6.9ab 5.70c 7.37a 6.6abc 6.8abc 6.5abc 5.9bc 7.04a 5.87b 6.09cd 6.18cd 5.74d 7.39a 6.85ab 6.59bc 6.32bcd 6.50bc 8.08a 4.84b

Biological yield (ton/ha) 26.89 27 26.2 29 28.22 28.5 31.94 28.27 30.9a 29.4a 28.61 26.44 25.65 28.57 26.44 28.96 31.65 29.58 32.65a 24.74b

Harvest index 21.36bc 21.00bc 17.61c 25.97a 21.01bc 23.89bc 20.73bc 21.62bc 24.03a 19.27b 21.65ab 23.55ab 23.19ab 25.94a 22.68ab 23.23ab 19.98b 22.83ab 25.72a 20.04b

1000 grains weight (g) 36.23b 35.90b 25.73d 42.70a 36.10b 32.10bc 33.03bc 29.50cd 36.94a 30.88b 33.66bc 31.86bc 28.86c 38.36a 36.33ab 31.03c 38.93a 32.36bc 38.20a 29.65b

Spike number per square meter 980.2b 1198.8ab 1152.2ab 1309.8a 1183.3ab 1143.3ab 1084.5ab 1074.7ab 1169.21a 1112.42a 1007 960.5 1041.7 1118.2 1120.3 1104.2 930.5 926 1076.41a 975.66a

Grain number per square meter 21958b 34621a 26818b 28510ab 26837b 26948b 21958b 26980b 29075.5a 25048.3b 27733 25275 25382 18635 28619 26429 21295 24770 27163.3a 22376.4b

2008-2009

Different letters in each column indicates significant difference at 5% level of probability according to value of Duncans multiple range.

The results of grain yield and yield components correlations show that, for all the cultivars, harvest index

in the first year (r=0.71**) had the highest correlation with grain yield (Table 3). Other researchers such as Khan

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Table 3. Correlation coefficients of grain yield with yield components in wheat.

Trait Grain yield

ns

Year 2007-2008 2008-2009

Biological yield 0.37 ** 0.62**

Harvest index 0.71** 0.56**

1000 grains weight 0.41** 0.69**

Spike number per square meter 0.08ns 0.34**

Grain number per square meter 0.46** 0.21*

*, ** and Significant in 1 and 5% and non significant, respectively.

Table 4. Stepwise regression on the yield (dependent variables) and other traits (independent variables) under terminal drought stress and normal conditions.

Year 2007-2008

Model Regression Residual Total Regression Residual Total

Sum of squares 87.89 85.78 173.68 306.21 10.63 316.84

df 2 93 95 3 92 95

Mean square 85.50 0.02 102.02 0.11 -

F 2969.52 883.18 -

Significance 0.00 0.00 -

2008-2009

Table 5. Result of stepwise regression analysis for grain yield in wheat genotypes under terminal drought stress and normal conditions.

Year

Model

20072008

Constant Biological yield Harvest index Final model Constant Biological yield Harvest index 1000 grain weight Final model

Unstandardized Standardized coefficient coefficient t Significance R2 Standard B Beta error -5.92 0.161 36.75 0.00 0.985 0.28 0.004 0.87 66.05 0.00 0.20 0.004 0.71 53.72 0.00 Grain yield = - 5.92 0.28 (Biological yield) + 0.20 (Harvest index)

Adjusted R2

0.984

20082009

-5.18 0.230 22.57 0.00 0.01 0.008 0.051 1.83 0.70 0.966 0.965 0.23 0.007 0.85 32.63 0.00 0.19 0.007 0.68 27.07 0.00 Grain yield = -5.18 + 0.01 (Biological yield) + 0.23 (Harvest index) + 0.19 (1000 grain weight)

and Ashraf (1993), also reported a positive correlation between the grain yield and 1000-grains weight. Indicating the importance of harvest index in determining grain yield of testing cultivars; biological yield, 1000 grain weight, number of grain per square meter and number of spike per square meter were of subsequent importance. In the same trend, late terminal drought stress during grain filling under Mediterranean semi-arid region was negatively significant with barley grain yield and all grain yield components such as plant height, spike number per plant, grain number per spike, 1000-grain weight, straw yield, grain yield and harvest index (Samarah et al., 2009). The results of stepwise regression analysis under both

terminal drought stress and normal conditions were calculated by considering the yield as the dependent variable and other characters as the independent variables. In the first year, two characters; biological yield and harvest index were in turn, entered into the regression model which accounted for 0.98% of the yield changes (R2 = 0.985). In the second year, biological yield, harvest index and 1000 grain weight remained in the final model, 2 explaining 96% of variation in the yield (R = 0.966) (Tables 4 and 5). According to these characters into the regression model, high percentage of yield changes was determined. Naderi et al. (2000), Hosseinpur et al. (2003) and Mollasadeghi et al. (2011a) in their researches indicated that through biological yield, we could have some

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Figure 1. Relationships between grain yield (ton/ha) and characters entered into the regression model in the first growing season.

Figure 2. Relationships between grain yield (ton/ha) and characters entered into the regression model in second growing season.

yield changes. Leilah and Khateeb (2005) showed that five traits of harvest index, biological yield, number of spike per square meter, grain weight per spike and spike length were introduced into stepwise regression model. Considering the positive and significant regression coefficient of mentioned characters, it could be stated that increase in the amount of these characters would increase the grain yield. Figures 1 and 2 show the relationship between grain yield, and characters can be entered into the regression model calculated for each year.

Conclusion Based on the analysis of simple correlation and stepwise regression, biological yield, harvest index and 1000 grain weight had the highest effect on grain yield. Biological yield and harvest index, which account for a high degree of variation in grain yield, can be considered to improve wheat grain yield. High yield of DN-11 is associated with harvest index since this cultivar has retained superiority of its 1000 grain weight (Table 2). In general, these results confirm that DN-11 is one of the cultivars with high

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yield potential in moisture stress conditions, especially in terminal season drought stress conditions and it enjoys high stability of yield.
REFERENCES Alqudah AM, Samarah NH, Mullen RE (2011). Drought Stress Effect on Crop Pollination, Seed Set, Yield and Quality. In: Lichtfouse E (ed) Alternative Farming Systems, Biotechnology, Drought Stress and Ecological Fertilisation. Springer Science+Business Media B.V., Sustain. Agric. Rev. 6:193-213. Ashraf M, Bokhari H, Cristiti SN (1992). Variation in osmotic adjustment of lentil (Lens culimaris Medic) in response to drought. Acta Bot. Neerl. 41:51-62. Bahrani A, Heidari-Sharifabad H, Tahmasebi-Sarvestani Z, Moafporian GH, Ayenehband A (2009). Wheat response to nitrogen and postanthesis water deficit. Proceedings of the international conference on CBEE. Singapore, pp. 33-34. Ehdaie B, Shakiba MR (1996). Relationship of internode-specific weight and water- soluble carbohydrates in wheat. Cereal Res. Commun. 24:61-67. Ehdaie B, Waines JG (1989). Adaptation of land race and improved wheat genotypes to stress environment. J. Genet. Breed. 43:151156. Gupta NK, Gupta S, Kumar A (2001). Effect of water stress on physiological attributes and their relationship with growth and yield of wheat cultivars at different stages. J. Agron. Crop Sci. 186:55-62. Khan A, Ashraf MA (1993). Water relation and drought tolerance in two wheat varieties under water stress. Pakistan J. Sci. Ind. 36:151-155. Kirigwi FM, Van Ginkel M, Trethowan R, Seaes RG, Rajaram S, Paulsen GM (2004). Evaluation of Selection Strategies for Wheat Adaptation Across Water Regimes. Euphytica 135:361-371. Moussavi-Nik M, Mobasser HR, Mehraban A (2007). Effect of water stress and potassium chloride on biological and grain yield of different wheat cultivars. Wheat Prod. Stressed Environ. 12:655-658. Najafian G (2003). Screening of high volume breeding lines of hexaploid wheat for drought tolerance using cluster analysis based on kernel yield and STI. Proceedings of 10th International Wheat Genetics Symposium, 1-6 Sept. Paestum, Italy. Nazari L, Pakniyat H (2010). Assessment of drought tolerance in barley genotypes. J. Appl. Sci. 10(2):151-156.

Plaut Z, Butow BJ, Blumenthal CS, Wrigley CW (2004). Transport of dry matter into developing wheat kernels. Field Crops Res. 96:185-198. Raynolds KM, Jensen M, Andreasen J, Goodman I (2000). Knowledgebased assessment of watershed condition. Comput. Electron. Agric. 27:315334. Richards P (1983). Ecological Change and the Politics of African Land Use. Afr. Stud. Rev. 26:1-72. Royo C, Abaza M, Blanco R, Garca del Moral LF (2000). Triticale grain growth and morphometry as aected by drought stress, late sowing and simulated drought stress. Aust. J. Plant Physiol. 27:10511059. Saidi A, Ookawa T, Motobayashi T, Hirasawa T (2008). Effects of soil moisture conditions before heading on growth of wheat plants under drought conditions in the ripening stage: insufficient soil moisture conditions before heading render wheat plants more resistant to drought to ripening. Plant Prod. Sci. 11:403-411. Samarah NH, Alqudah AM, Amayreh JA, McAndrews GM (2009). The Effect of Late-terminal Drought Stress on Yield Components of Four Barley Cultivars. J. Agron. Crop Sci. 195:427-441. Seropian C, Planchon C (1984). Physiological responses of six bread wheat and durum wheat genotypes to water stress. Euphytica 33:757-767. Shahryari R, Mollasadeghi V (2011). Correlation Study of Some Traits affecting Yield and Yield Components of Wheat Genotypes in Terms of Normal Irrigation and End Drought Stress. Adv. Environ. Biol. 5(3):523-552. Siddique KHM, Tennant D, Perry MW, Belford RK (1990). Water use efficiency of old and modern wheat cultivars in a Mediterranean-type environment. Aust. J.Agric. Res. 41:431-447. Siddique MRB, Hamid A, Islam MS (2000). Drought stress effects on water relations of wheat. Bot. Bull. Acad. Sin. 41:35-39. Singh SK, Aggarwal PK, Chaturvedi GS, Singh AK, Kailasnathan K (1986). Performance of wheat and triticale cultivars in a variable soil water environment. I. Grain yield stability. Field Crop Res. 13:289299. Taheri S, Saba J, Shekari F, Abdullah TL (2011). Effects of drought stress condition on the yield of spring wheat (Triticum aestivum) lines. Afr. J. Biotechnol. 10(80):18339-18348.

African Journal of Agricultural Research Vol. 7(28), pp. 4110-4117, 24 July,, 2012 Available online at http://www.academicjournals.org/AJAR DOI: 10.5897/AJAR12.1071 ISSN 1991-637X 2012 Academic Journals

Full Length Research Paper

Seed drilling distance applications in sugar beet cultivation

Ko Mehmet TURUL1*, evki BUZLUK1 and Ayegl BOYACIOLU2
1

Agricultural Mechanization Department, Sugar Institute, Ankara, Turkey. 2 Agronomy Department, Sugar Institute, Ankara, Turkey.
Accepted 22 June, 2012

This research was conducted with the Leila sugar beet variety between 2007 and 2009 at the Sugar Institute Etimesgut and Ilgn experimental stations, and the aim of this research was to determine the most suitable seed distance in rows for sugar beet cultivation. Both experimental stations were located in the Central Anatolia region. Six different sowing distances were specified as the following methods: 8 (T1), 10 (T2), 12 (T3), 17 (T4), 19 (T5) and 21 cm (T6). Thinning and singling were applied only in the T1, T2 and T3 distances. The average germination was 65%, and there were no differences observed among the methods. The highest beet yield was found in T1, with a value of 57.61 t ha-1, and T1 had the highest sugar content, refined sugar content and refined sugar yield with values of 18.27, 15.81%, and 9.08 t ha1 , respectively. The lowest values for beet yield, sugar content, refined sugar content and refined sugar yield were found in T6 with values of 47.08 t ha-1, 17.83%, 15.19% and 7.35 t ha-1, respectively. Determined differences among the methods were significant at a level of 1%. The highest farmer income was obtained in T1, T2 and T4. If the soil preparation and sowing are fulfilled in favorable conditions, the T1, T2 and T3 methods are applicable in Central Anatolia. T4 is also more beneficial method in areas where there is a problem to meet labor demands. The T5 and T6 methods should be used with caution in fields with insufficient climate and soil conditions because differences in yield and quality may exist. Key words: Precision drilling, seed distance in row, mechanical precision drilling machine, sugar beet, yield and quality. INTRODUCTION High quality and yield in field plants are only possible if planting machinery drills at an adequate density required by the plant, a straight distance in the rows and a straight distance between the rows. These requirements are important for decision makers in countries that have moved on from bunching and singling drilling to nonbunching and singling drilling. The optimum plant frequency distribution using agricultural practices in large areas, such as Turkey, is difficult to define. A square pattern in which the plant distance in the rows and between rows is 30 cm is ideal (Johnson et al., 1971). This life area gives every plant an equal chance to reach its maximum potential. In practice, however, a distance of 30 cm is not suitable for tillage, irrigation and harvest applications. In addition, climate, soil texture and regional changes of these characteristics are important factors to take into consideration when designing a sowing system. Due to the fact that there are many factors that affect the plant number in a unit area, various studies have been performed to determine optimum plant frequency. Optimum plant frequency to obtain the highest yield and quality has been determined to be between 70000 and 90000 plants ha-1 (Saric and Nenadic, 1985; Jaggard, 1995). Distances of 50 cm between rows and 25 cm in rows for sugar beets in various countries are currently

*Corresponding author. E-mail: kmtugrul@yahoo.com. Tel: +90 0 312 2449055/2651. Fax: +90 0 312 2433278.

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Table 1. Beet numbers per ha depend on the field emergence rate and seed distance in the row.
-1 Seed number Seed number in area (1000 seed/plant ha ) in Field emergence rate (%) drilling* 30 40 50 60 70 80 278 83 111 138 166 194 222 222 66 88 111 133 155 177 186 55 74 92 111 129 148 131 39 52 65 78 91 104 117 35 46 58 70 81 93 106 31 42 52 63 74 84

Seed distance in the row (cm) 8 10 12 17 19 21

*Not including double and empty seed gaps.

being used to ensure a yield of 80000 plants ha-1. In Turkey, the sugar beet drill distances are 45 cm between rows and 20 cm in rows (Bilgin, 1987). Due to the cultural process and insect destruction, 12 to 20% of beets are lost from singling to harvest. Therefore, beet frequency in a unit area must be calculated to consider this lost. Table 1 shows the most suitable distance in rows for current conditions. In the case of drilling, the distance in rows match field emergence rate (shown in bold), and this distance must decrease to increase the plant number that must be planted in 1 ha to achieve the highest yield and quality. At these drilling distances, growers would suffer. Thus, the field emergence rate must be correctly specified, and the drilling distance in rows must also be determined. Climate, rainfall and temperature are important factors that are considered in the development period of sugar beet farming. The lowest night temperature during the beet development period is favorable in terms of dry matter production. Furthermore, sugar beets produce sugar at high levels in conditions of suitable precipitation or irrigation. Daily water requirements of 400 to 600 mm for 1 kg of dry matter production are high. The water requirement during seed germination and seedling establishment is also quite high (zgr, 1986). It is not possible for growers to control certain factors, such as annual climate and soil conditions. However, the negative impact of an insufficient quantity of precipitation can be reduced with irrigation. The following yield and quality factors can be controlled by growers: plant frequency (number of plants and plant distribution), seed variety selection, vegetation period (planting and harvesting times), field and seed bed preparation, maintenance (hoeing, plant protection, fertilization and irrigation), topping, harvest shape, and -1 storage. Plant yields of fewer than 70000 plants ha beet yield can slowly decrease over time, but some quality features can quickly decay. In addition, the beet yield and technological quality can decrease in fields that have empty gaps or high double-plant rates in rows (Tortopolu, 1994). The sizes of beets growing singly at equal distances in rows are likely to be homogeneous,

and have high yields and technological quality. Proper plant distribution in fields also enables correct topping techniques by machines during harvesting. Drilling monogerm seeds with precision drilling machines began in the mid 1960s throughout the world, particularly in European countries. Developments in sugar beet cultivation have been closely monitored in Turkey (Tufan, 1987). Since 1990, genetic monogerm seeds have been used, with seed consumption decreasing to 3 kg ha-1. The germination performance, resistance against disease, resistance against pests, yield and internal quality of seed varieties have continuously increased after 1990, and studies on these parameters have started to focus on non-bunching and singling sugar beet agriculture. In field emergency power trials repeated every year by the Sugar Institute, the field emergency power of varieties has been determined to be between 56 and 86% (nan et al., 2010). In current farming conditions, the germination rates vary between 30 and 60%, and the rates vary between years in Turkey due to small beet cultivation fields and semi-arid climate conditions, which result in inadequate or untimely agricultural applications. Therefore, drilling with a distance of 8 cm in rows is carried out 55% of the time (Gnel et al., 2010). Inan (1993) studied the effect of 8, 15, 17, 19 and 21 cm drilling distances in rows on sugar beet yield and quality in Adapazar and Ankara conditions. Inan (1993) specified that 70000 plant ha-1 could not be reached at a 21 cm drilling distance, which is necessary for optimum yield and quality. Differences in internal quality and beet yield are not significant until a 17 cm drilling distance for Adapazar conditions and a 19 cm drilling distance for Ankara conditions are used. Moreover, Inan noted that the differences in quality and yield between the drilling distances greater than 17 and 19 cm are statistically important at a 1% level. akmak and Oral (1995) studied the following effects on beet yield and quality: 45 cm distance between rows; bunching and non-bunching drilling at 8 and 15 cm distances in rows; and three field emergence levels of 60, 50 and 35%. Based on the results of their two-year study,

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Table 2. Precipitation and temperature condition.

Year

Conditions Precipitation (mm) Temperature (high) Temperature (low) Precipitation (mm) Temperature (high) Temperature (low) Precipitation (mm) Temperature (high) Temperature (low)

2007

2008

2009

April 19 27 -4 25 32 1 62 26 -1

May 4 37 5 30 35 1 11 33 8

June 25 40 10 25 39 8 14 38 6

Etimesgut July August 8 1 43 42 13 14 1 41 39 11 14 17 39 39 14 10

September 39 6 29 38 2 3 36 2

April 19 23 -3 26 25 3 53 22 -1

May 3 30 6 25 27 3 44 27 2

June 17 36 9 11 33 7 15 33 9

Ilgn July 38 10 4 37 10 4 37 9

August 17 36 12 36 10 38 7

September 46 32 3 87 32 7 10 32 2

they reported that there is not a significant loss in terms of root and refined sugar yield in the case of 50 to 60% field emergence rate at a 15 cm drilling distance, and they stated that bunching agriculture can be applied in these conditions. Stanacev et al. (1981) specified that a 20 cm range for bunching agriculture is better than nonbunching planting at ranges of 10 and 15 cm. Nagy et al. (1981) also determined that an 8 cm range in bunching drilling is more advantageous than a 15 cm range in nonbunching drilling in terms of root and sugar yield. Currently, seed bed preparation, planting, cultural applications and plant protection techniques are significantly developed. The germination power of genetic monogerm seeds has decreased the dependence of field emergence on weather conditions. Important factors, including drilling distances, allowing the required number of outputs in the field and sufficient plant numbers ensure the desired yield and quality on a regional level. Post-drilling labor procurement has become more difficult each day, and labor costs are continuously rising in sugar beet agriculture. In European countries, these problems are being solved by non-singling and nonbunching drilling with adequate climate and soil conditions. If the seed distances in rows are small, then bunching is not required in sparse sowing. In European countries, sugar beet drilling is largely applied with distances of 20 to 25 cm in rows. In recent years, the use of a drilling distance of 17 cm in rows with a 3.25 to 4.00 mm calibration range using thin-coated seeds has increased in Turkey. In good climate and soil conditions, this rate can be increased with appropriate seed bed preparation and emergence irrigation in required places. In this study, which was located in Central Anatolia, the applicability of drilling at distances of 10, 12, 17, 19 and 21 cm was compared to the existing drilling distance of 8 cm. Furthermore, the effects of non-singling and nonbunching drilling applications on sugar beet yield and quality were also taken into consideration.

Table 3. Methods and seed distances in the row.

Method Seed distance

T1 8

T2 10

T3 12

T4 17

T5 19

T6 21

MATERIALS AND METHODS This study was carried out between 2007 and 2009 at the Etimesgut and Ilgn trial stations (Turkish Sugar Factories Corporation). The soil at the Etimesgut trial station has a clayey soil texture, and the Ilgn trial station has a silty-clayey soil texture. Both areas have a terrestrial climate. Annual precipitation of Etimesgut was 236, 227 and 371 mm in 2007, 2008 and 2009 and Ilgn was 409, 326 and 401 mm, respectively. The distribution of precipitation was irregular in both areas throughout the year. The precipitation, the highest and lowest temperature from sowing time to harvest by months is given in Table 2. In the autumn, the fields were first prepared with subsoil and were then cultivated once with a moldboard plough using 2/3 of the phosphorous fertilizer. In the spring, the seed bed was prepared by applying the remaining 1/3 of the phosphorous fertilizer and half of the nitrogenous fertilizer. The remaining half of the nitrogenous fertilizer was applied before the first hoeing. According to the soil analysis results, the following amounts of the pure materials were applied to the soil: 16 kg of nitrogen, 6 kg of phosphorus and 8 kg of potassium. Genetic monogerm sugar beet seeds, named LEILA, originating from German KWS (Kleinwanzlebener Saatzucht A.G.-Einbeck) were used in the study. The average mass of 1000 seeds was 10.77 g, and the germination power was 90%. A mechanical precision drilling machine was used to sow the trial plots. After completion of the whole field emergence, the trial plots were harrowed twice and pulverized once against underground insects. In the plots with seed drilling distances of 8, 10 and 12 cm, beets were manually bunched at 20 to 24 cm at the 4 to 6 leaf stage. In the other plots with drill 17, 19 and 21 cm, beets were singled and not bunched with more than one seedling in the queue but not bunched. Irrigation was started in June, based on soil and plant observations. Trial plots were irrigated seven times in the Ilgn experimental station, and trial plots were irrigated five times in the Etimesgut experimental station. An 8 cm seed distance, which has the maximum drilling ratio of 55% in Turkey, and seed distances of 10, 12, 17, 19 and 21 cm were considered in this study (Table 3). A tillage plot was created as a small plot trial in a completely randomized design with four replicates. The trial plots were 10 m long and 4.5 m wide. The distance between the iterations was 7 m

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to allow easy tractor steering, and the distance between the plots was 1 m. Initially, sugar beets were drilled in 10 rows in each plot, and the middle of the plot was evaluated after harvesting six rows. There were 410 beets in the planting plot and 180 beets in the harvest plot. The trial area was 1647 m2. The planting parcel area was 45 m2, and the harvest parcel area was 20 m2. A motion transmission realizes a 0.64 transmission rate from the main wheel to six angular transmission axles and a 0.40 transmission rate from the axle to the unit core gearwheel. The total transmission rate from the main wheel to the unit core is 0.25. Therefore, when the main wheel turns four times, the cell wheel turns one time to allow the number of seeds sown to be equal to the number of holes on the surface. The drilling distance setting on the machine was made by changing the transmission rate or changing the number of holes on the cell wheel. In this study, the drilling distance was controlled by changing the number of holes without changing transmission rate. For the various drilling distances, the following settings of the cell wheel were used: 90 holes for 8 cm, 70 holes for 10 cm, 58 holes for 12 cm, 38 holes for 17 cm, 34 holes for 19 cm, and 31 holes for 21 cm. After harvest, the beets were washed and weighed. The beets were then sampled for analysis with the aid of a fraise hob in an analysis laboratory. Dry matter was measured by a refract meter. Sugar content was considered to be the percentage of polar sugar (P). The polar sugar amount was determined by extracting 26 g of beet pulp with 178.2 ml of lead (Pb) acetate liquor, and polar meter readings were taken. Sodium (Na) and potassium (K) amounts were determined by a Betalyser using flame photometer principals. The -N amount was also determined by a Betalyser using spectrophotometer principals. The refined sugar content (RSC) and refined sugar yield (RSY) values was calculated using the following equations (Reinefeld et al., 1974): RSC = SE - [0.343 (Na + K) + 0.094 -N + 0.29)] RSY = BY RSC (1) (2)

Number of plants The field emergence numbers and harvest times are shown in Table 5. The highest field emergence was obtained from T1, and the lowest field emergence was obtained from T6, which suggested that field emergence depended on the number of drilled seeds. If there were no double seeds and empty gaps, the theoretical seed numbers drilled per hectare are shown in Table 1. The highest number of seeds was drilled in T1 with 278000 seeds, and the lowest number of seeds was drilled in T6 with 106000 seeds. The beet number determined at harvest was similar to the field emergence number. The number of beets at harvest in T5 was slightly more than 70000 plants per ha, which is required for the highest yield and quality, and the number of beets at harvest in T6 was below this value. Beet yield The beet yield values obtained from both regions are shown in Table 6. During the three years, the beet yields obtained at the Ilgn experiment station were higher than the yields obtained at the Etimesgut experiment station. When the methods were compared, T1 had the highest value in each of the two regions, followed by T2. The difference between T1 and the other methods in Etimesgut was statistically significant at a level of 1%, and the difference between T1 and the other methods in Ilgn was statistically significant at a 1% level. The values for T1 were not significantly different between the two regions, and T1 had highest yield, followed by T2, T3 and T4. The lowest yield was obtained from T5 and T6. The average field emergence rates were similar, with values of 66 and 64% for the Etimesgut and Ilgn experiment stations (Table 4). However, while there were 196470 seedlings per ha in T1 when the field emergence was completed, and there were 89860, 82830 and 71760 seedlings per ha in T4, T5 and T6, respectively, when the field emergence was completed (Figure 1). The number of beets at harvest was 98770 in T1 followed by 79900, 77880 and 66500 in T4, T5 and T6, respectively. In T6, the number of beets at harvest was less than 70000 plants, which is the lower limit and is required for the highest yield and quality per ha. The number of beets in T5 was only slightly above the lower limit. Low beet numbers reduce the yield. When beet yield change was evaluated by field emergence, the beet yield decreased even though the field emergence was high in T4, T5 and T6, and this trend may have been due to the low unit area plant number at harvest (Figure 2). Sugar content The beet sugar contents in this study are shown in Table 7. When comparing the combined results from the three

Where RSC is the refined sugar content (%), SE is the sugar content (%), Na is the amount of sodium (meq Na/100 g), K is the amount of potassium (meq K/100 g), -N is amount of harmful nitrogen (meq N/100 g), RSY is the refined sugar yield (t ha-1), and BY is the beet yield (t ha-1). Variance analysis and F-tests were applied to the study outcomes in accordance with the trial plan. No comparisons were made where the F-value was found to be insignificant. Double comparisons in the case of significant F-values were made by Duncans multiple comparison method.

RESULTS Field emergence When the field emergence was completed after sowing, the number of beet seedlings in the plot was counted and the field emergence rate was determined (Table 4). In general, the field emergence rate in both regions was similar at 65%. The field emergence rate is an important factor to consider when determining seed distance in rows. Moreover, the field emergence rate is an indicator of the region to be sown and of the time for when the applications should be carried out by the farmer. When using 70000 plants per ha, which is required for the highest yield and quality, 60% field emergence for a 19 cm drilling distance and 70% field emergence for 21 cm drilling distance must be ensured, as shown in Table 1.

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Table 4. Field emergence rate (%).

Methods T1 T2 T3 T4 T5 T6 Mean

2007 2008 2009 Mean Etimesgut Ilgn Etimesgut Ilgn Etimesgut Ilgn Etimesgut 47 64 82 81 50 38 60 47 55 80 80 58 47 62 43 48 74 81 59 56 59 43 52 72 74 72 76 62 45 54 74 78 74 84 64 40 45 75 73 75 66 63 44 53 76 78 78 61 66

Ilgn 61 61 62 67 72 61 64

Table 5. Plant numbers at field emergence and harvest.

Method T1 T2 T3 T4 T5 T6

Etimesgut mean (plants ha-1) NFE* NPHT** 166430 95370 137230 88540 108330 82750 81140 71670 75130 71910 66740 66710

Ilgn mean (plants ha-1) NFE NPHT 226501 102170 173691 98040 141681 92210 98570 88121 90521 83831 76770 66290

General mean (plants ha-1) NFE NPHT 196466 98770 155461 93290 125006 87480 89855 79896 82826 77871 71755 66500

*NFE, number at field emergence; **NPHT, number at harvest time.

Table 6. Beet yield values (t ha-1).

Method T1 T2 T3 T4 T5 T6 F SEM
**P < 0.01.

Etimesgut 43.92a 40.62ab 38.47b 37.98bc 35.02cd 33.40d 10.129** 38.242.07

Ilgn 71.30a 68.39b 67.26bc 66.54bc 64.93c 60.76d 15.211** 66.531.57

in Table 8. The difference in refined sugar contents among the methods was determined to parallel to the sugar content values. The highest refined sugar content was obtained from T1. The refined sugar contents in T2, T3 and T4 were similar to the refine sugar content in T1, and the differences among the methods were not significant. T5 and T6 had the lowest refined sugar content values (Figure 2). Refined sugar yield The beet refined sugar yield values in this study are shown in Table 9. T1 had the highest refined sugar yield values, followed by T2. While the difference between T1 and T2 was not significant, the differences between T1 and the other methods (T3, T4, T5 and T6) were significant at a 1% level. The lowest refined sugar yield value was found in T6, which was similar to the other measured parameters. The second lowest refined sugar yield was in T5. The refined sugar yield depended on field emergence with a declining trend resulting from increased seed distance (Table 4 and Figure 3). When taking into account the climate condition of the regions, a similar field emergence of 65% was observed in all plots (Table 4). Thus, only 65 of 100 drilled seeds were

years, there were no statistically significant differences in the sugar contents between T1 and T2, T3 and T4 for both regions. On the other hand, the differences in sugar contents between T1 and T5 and between T1 and T6 were significant at a 5% level (p < 0.05). Field emergence did not affect the sugar contents (Figure 3). Refined sugar content The beet refined sugar contents in this study are shown

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Numbers of field emergence (Seedling/ha) Numbers of plant in harvest time (Seedling/ha)

80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 Refined Sugar Content (%) Field Emergence (%) Sugar Content (%)

250,000 200,000 150,000 100,000 50,000 0 T1 T2 T3 T4 T5 T6

0 T1 T2 T3 T4 T5 T6

Figure 1. The average field emergence and plant numbers at harvest in the trial plots.

Figure 3. Changes of quality parameters according to methods.

70.00 60.00 50.00 40.00 30.00 20.00 10.00 0.00 T1 T2 T3 T4 T5 T6 Plant Frequency (beet/m) Beet Yield (t/ha) Refined Sugar Yield (t/ha)

Figure 2. Changes of yield and plant frequency according to methods.

deficiencies, soil deficiencies, pests and diseases. From field emergence to harvest, an average of 60% was lost in T1, T2 and T3, and an average of 8% was lost in T4, T5 and T6. The loss may be due to the singling and bunching applications. The increased seed drilling in the first three methods may have been due to the consideration for the guarantee of beet and sugar production even with lower field emergence values resulting from regional application and climate condition differences. Use of the T4 which includes the nonsingling and bunching application, is currently increasing in sugar beet agriculture in Turkey. Application of the T6 method, which is extensively applied in European countries under the same conditions of the study region, is considered too risky. However, it may be possible to choose a final drilling distance if the climate and soil conditions are suitable, and the final drilling distance may be used in field applications if sufficient precautions are taken.

Table 7. Combined sugar content values from the three years (%).

Total cost
Method T1 T2 T3 T4 T5 T6 F SEM
*P < 0.05.

Etimesgut 18.16a 17.94ab 17.90ab 17.86ab 17.65b 17.62b 1.266* 17.860.31

Ilgn 18.38a 18.35a 18.34ab 18.16abc 18.11bc 18.04c 3.035* 18.230.15

germinated in the Middle Anatolia region, which has the most suitable ecological conditions for sugar beets. In addition, 35 of 100 drilled seeds were lost due to climate

The drilling seed amounts per unit area (kg ha-1) depending on the seed distance; yield (t ha-1) and farmers income were calculated and represented as a relative value in Figure 3. The cost of 1 kg of processed and chemically dressed naked seed is $18.46 according to the Turkish Sugar Factories Corporation cost summary (TFA, 2010). Half of the cost ($9.23) is taken from the farmers according to a sowing contract ($1 = 1.58 TL). A double seed average of 10% was observed and accepted, depending on the seed calibration of drilling naked sugar beet seeds with a mechanical precision sugar beet drilling machine. In this study, 3.29 kg of seeds per ha were drilled in T1 followed by 2.20 and 1.55 kg of seeds per ha in T3 and T4, respectively (mass of one thousand Leila seeds = 10.77 g). The seed cost based on 2010 farmer costs was $30.40 in T1, $20.34 in

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Afr. J. Agric. Res.

Table 8. Combined refined sugar content values from the three years (%).

Method T1 T2 T3 T4 T5 T6 F SEM
*P < 0.05.

Etimesgut 15.28a 15.04ab ab 15.01 abc 14.83 bc 14.60 14.39c 3.003* 14.860.33

Ilgn 16.34a 16.33a a 16.29 ab 16.10 b 16.02 15.98b 3.490* 16.180.15

109 and 111 for T1, T3 and T4, respectively. Singling and bunching were absolutely necessary in T1, T2 and T3, and this type of application added 200 TL ha-1 additional costs to the total cost for these methods (TFA, 2010). Considering all conditions, T1 had the highest farmer income. Because labor supply is low, T4 would be difficult to apply in this region. DISCUSSION 65% field emergence was obtained for all of the applied methods according to the combined results from the three years in the Eimesgut and Ilgn regions. The seed rate resulted in plant population ranging from 67000 to -1 -1 99000 ha and the adjusted root yield from 33 to 44 t ha -1 for Etimesgut and from 61 to 71 t ha for Ilgn (Tables 5 and 6). The largest yield was usually produced by -1 population ranging from 70000 to 200000 ha and was -1 never produced by population less than 70000 ha . The field emergence amount was ideal for T1, T2, T3 and T4. However, this emergence amount may create risk for the last two methods depending on the regional and climate conditions. For the first three methods, the yield and quality values were high and similar. Also, sugar concentration and recoverable sugar content tended to increase as the plant population increased. If sufficient precautions are taken, the T1, T2, T3 and T4 methods are applicable. However, yield and quality may be affected with the T5 and T6 methods depending on climate and soil conditions. The difference in adjusted root yield of different plant population was statically significant in the experiment. Thus, it is important to consider the cultural precautions that are affected by farmers. Climate conditions should also be suitable to obtain optimal conditions for high yield and quality in T5 and T6. The germination rate must be correctly predicted to determine the distance in rows. The most precise seed distribution uniformity, germination rate and factors related to the field and seed bed must be used to accurately predict the optimum plant frequency. Thus, seed germination and emergence rate during cultivation can be guaranteed to be fast and high, respectively. Increasing the seed drilling distance, providing sufficient seed frequency and providing sufficient plant distribution in non-bunching drilling applications can increase field emergence rates. Inan (1993) suggested that a 19 cm drilling distance is possible in Ankara conditions. T1 has the widest application area in Turkey, and T4 provides 53% savings in terms of seed waste and labor needs. Thus, these two methods are the most suitable methods for Turkey in terms of yield, quality and farmer incomes.
REFERENCES Bilgin Y (1987). The Effects of Plant Frequency on Yield and Quality. Increasing the Yield and Quality in Sugar Beet Cultivation, The First

Table 9. Combined refined sugar yield values from the three years (t ha-1).

Method T1 T2 T3 T4 T5 T6 F SEM
**P < 0.01.

Etimesgut 6.60a 6.28ab 5.91bc 5.50cd 5.09d 5.01d 9.266** 5.730.37

Ilgn 11.56a 11.12ab 10.94bc 10.62cd 10.42d 9.69e 15.124** 10.730.29

Seed Cost
280 260 240 220 200 180 160 140 120 100 80 60 40 20 0 262 209

Yield Changing

Farmer ncome

Relative Changing Amount

175 124 122 119 112 116 109 112 111 111 106 110 106 100

10

12

17

19

21

Drilling Distance in Row (cm)

Figure 4. Changes in cost and income according to seed distances in the row.

T3 and $14.33 in T4. When considering the relative seed cost of 100 in T6, the seed costs were determined to be 262, 175 and 124 in T1, T3 and T4, respectively (Figure 4). When considering the relative beet yield in T6 to be 100, the beet yield was 122, 112 and 111 in T1, T3 and T4, respectively. The relative farmer incomes were 119,

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Symposium of Sugar Beet Production, 23-27 December 1987. Turkish Sugar Factories Corporation Publications, Ankara, Turkey. pp. 28-44. akmak R, Oral E (1995). The Effects of Different Field Emergence Rates on Yield and Quality in Bunching and Non Bunching Sugar Beet Agriculture. Turk. J. Agric. ForAnkara Turkey 22(1998):45146. Gnel E, alkan ME, Kuman N, Turul KM, Ylmaz A, Arnaslgil T, Onaran H (2010). Starch and Sugar Plant Cultivation. Turkey Agricultural Engineering, Proceedings of VII. Technical Congress, Ankara, Turkey (in Turkish). pp. 377-395. Inan H (1993). The Effects of Different Seed Drilling Distance on Yield and Quality. Increasing the Yield and Quality in Sugar Beet Cultivation, II. National Sugar Beet Production Symposium, 10-11 September 2002. Turkish Sugar Factories Corporation Publications, Ankara, Turkey. pp. 100-107. Inan H, Boyacolu A, Abac AY (2010). To Determine the Field Emergence Power of Seed Belongs to Different Parcel of Drilled Varieties in Sugar Beet Cultivation. Annual Research Result Report. Turkish Sugar Factories Corporation, Sugar Institute, Ankara, Turkey. Jaggard KW (1995). Sugar Beet: A Grower's Guide. Fifth Edition. The Sugar Beet Research and Education Committee, Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, London. Johnson RT, Alexander JT, Rush GE, Hawkes GR (1971). The Developments in Sugar Beet Production, Principles and Applications. Turkish Sugar Factories Corporation Publications. Ankara, Turkey. p. 205. Nagy Z, Bianu F, Florescu I, Antal A, Nagy M, Radu V (1981). Studies Looking at the Seed Preparation and Sowing Distance Between Rows of Monogerm Sugar Beet in Irrigated and Non-irrigated Conditions, Field Crop Abstracts 34(1):79. zgr O (1986). Sugar and Formation in Sugar Beet. Turkish Sugar Factories Corporation Publications. Sugar Institute. Ankara, Turkey. Reinefeld E, Emmerich A, Baumgarten G (1974). Zur verausage des melassezuckers und rbananalysen. Zucker 27:349-363. Saric B, Nenadic N (1985). Effect of Crop Density and Quality of Sugar Beet. Field Crop Abstract, 38:82.

Stanacev S, Misolevi R, Cacic N, Rakic T (1981). Effect of Sowing method and Stand Regulation on Yield and Technical Characters of Two Monogerm Sugar Beet Cultivars in North Western Backa, Field Crop Abstracts 34(7):643. Tortopolu AI (1994). Factors of Affecting the Cost of Yield, Quality and Sugar Production in Sugar Beet Cultivation. Turkish Sugar Factories Corporation Publications pp. 12-13. TFA (2010). Cost Summaries, Turkish Sugar Factories Corporation Publications, Ankara, Turkey. Tufan (1987). Polygerm Seed Drilling with Precision Drilling Machine in order to Supply Required Population. Increasing the Yield and Quality in Sugar Beet Cultivation. The First Symposium of Sugar Beet Production, 23-27 December 1987. Turkish Sugar Factories Corporation Publications, Ankara, Turkey. pp. 236-241.

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