This study focused on the exploration of the potentials of extracting antioxidants from peels and stems of yellow‐fleshed and white cassava varieties. The effect of particle size (0.2 and 0.5 mm) and variety on the phenolic content and antioxidant activity was assessed. The peels of the yellow‐fleshed cassava variety with a particle size of 0.2 mm showed the highest phenolic content with 681.5 GAE mg 100 g−1 and antioxidant activity of 19% and 425 μM TE g−1 dry matter using DPPH and FRAP assays ...

Cassava has potential for many industrial uses, which provide an opportunity for more rewarding markets. Therefore, significant research on improved varieties, targeting industrial applications, is required as a possible approach to spur improvements in the value chain. To this end, this study evaluated the physicochemical parameters and functional properties of ten (10) improved cassava genotypes for fast-tracking adaptable and preferred cassava genotypes for industrial use. The genotypes were ...

We investigated the diversity and the population dynamics of insects attacking seed stocks of Acacia macrostachya, an indigenous legume tree whose seeds constitute an important food source for rural and urban populations in Burkina Faso. For this purpose, six thousand four hundred and two seeds were collected from newly harvested dry pods in spontaneous vegetation around the research station of Saria, while 50kg of naturally infested seeds of A. macrostachya were purchased from nearby markets. To ...

Inadequate nutrient intakes are prevalent among many populations in sub-Saharan Africa and increasing fish consumption among pregnant/lactating women and children is one strategy to improve diets and address nutrient deficiencies. We report the nutrient content of two fish-based recipes—fish powder and fish chutney—that contain dried small fish available in local markets in Zambia. The contribution of a serving of each recipe to the recommended daily intakes of iron, zinc, calcium and docosahexaenoic ...

A relatively large body of literature has documented the welfare effects of smallholder farmers’ participation in single-commodity output markets. However, limited empirical evidence is available when smallholder farmers participate in multiple-commodities output markets. We tried to fill this gap in the literature by estimating the impacts of smallholder farmers’ contemporaneous participation in both maize and legume markets vis-à-vis in only maize or legume markets using household-level data ...

The evolution of resistance to the Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) toxins by insect pests is a major threat to Bt technology. However, the rate of resistance can be slowed with appropriate integrated insect resistance management (IRM) strategies. Surveys were conducted to identify alternate host species for Maruca vitrata (commonly called the legume pod borer or Maruca) that could serve as refuges for Pod-Borer Resistant (PBR) cowpea in three West African countries (Ghana, Nigeria, and Burkina Faso). ...

The burrowing nematode, Radopholus similis, is the most economically important nematode parasite of bananas, in addition to parasitising a range of other crops (Coyne & Kidane, 2018). Weakened, infected roots result in poor plant development and they are less able to provide anchorage to banana plants, which can lead to toppling of the entire plant. To enable research activities, such as resistance screening and efficacy studies, a readily available supply of inoculum is required for timely use ...

The transformation of value-added solar-dried banana to banana syrup, which contains very high levels of fructooligosaccharides (FOS), is attractive. It has promising economic potential for the nutraceutical and functional food industry. In this study, the near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy was used for the detection of 1-kestose (GF2), nystose (GF3), 1F-fructofuranosylnystose (GF4), and total FOS in solar-dried banana syrup in the spectral region of 4000–12,000 cm−1. Partial Least Squares (PLS) ...

Cassava is a key food security crop in Central Africa, but its production depends largely on the use of local farmers’ varieties characterized by inherently low yield which is compounded by generally high susceptibility to various growth and yield-limiting pests and diseases. Improved cassava genotypes have demonstrated the potential to substantially improve cassava’s contribution to food security and the development of the cassava industry and the improvement of nutrition status elsewhere in ...

The bio-protective effect of either single or dual mycorrhizal (AMF) and rhizobial colonisation of the roots of non-leguminous and leguminous banana intercrops differing in host response to Radopholus similis on the reproduction of this important migratory endoparasitic nematode was examined. Included in the study were sorgho-Sudan grass (good R. similis host), sweet potato and common bean (intermediate hosts), soybean and sunn hemp (poor hosts), and marigold (non-host). Significant plant ...