European Journal of Agriculture and Food Sciences

The Future of Northern Canadian Land Use in the Age of Climate Change

2025-02-01T19:30:59+01:00

Climate change and land use alterations are interdependent and change in one causes a change in the other. Climate change is projected to expand agricultural lands especially at higher latitudes like northern regions of Canada. However, the spatiotemporal extent of this land use change is not clear and will be affected by multiple factors. This research provides a descriptive modelling and analysis of climate change-driven agricultural expansions (CCDAEs) in northern Canada. We discuss the consequences of CCDAE progress in Canada’s North in terms of climate change-driven soil loss, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and associated environmental impacts. Results revealed that just over 135 million hectares of northern Canada’s lands could change to agricultural lands through different CCDAE scenarios in four timeframes between 2025–2100. The scenarios were categorized to address Indigenous sovereignty on their treaty lands and sustainability of peatlands and mountain areas along with the most likely CCDAE patterns. The CCDAE is projected to cause 29− 18⁵ × 10³megaton (MT) soil loss, and 1.7− 8.6 × 10⁵MT carbon dioxide equivalent GHG emissions in minimal/maximal situations. This huge CCDAEs in Canada’s north will have considerable footprints on the environment, local communities, climate change mitigation plans, global food security, and local/national economic opportunities. Data and analyses can be used by provincial/territorial governments, policymakers, and environmental planners for future land use changes planning and infrastructure and rural development.

Performance of Broiler Chicken Fed Diets with Noni (Morinda citrifolia) Leaf Meal

2025-01-12T07:03:36+01:00

This study investigated the effects of noni-leaf meal (NLM) inclusion in broiler diets on growth performance, feed utilization, and profitability. A total of 150-day-old broiler chicks were randomly assigned to five dietary treatments in a Completely Randomized Design (CRD) with three replicates per treatment. The treatments included a control diet without NLM (T1) and diets with 3% (T2), 6% (T3), 9% (T4), and 12% (T5). Key performance metrics such as body weight, weight gain, growth rate, feed consumption, and profitability were evaluated. Results showed no significant differences in initial and final body weights, or dressing percentages across treatments. Weight gain and growth rates were highest during the early weeks but declined in later weeks. Feed consumption showed significant differences in weeks five and six, indicating treatment effects on intake at later stages. The control diet (T1) achieved the highest weight gain and revenue but incurred higher feed costs, reducing profitability. Among NLM diets, 6% NLM (T3) provided the best balance of growth performance and profitability. Higher NLM levels (T4 and T5) resulted in reduced weight gain and profitability, with T4 yielding the lowest return on investment. The result suggests that incorporating 6% NLM in broiler diets optimizes growth performance and profitability, while higher inclusion levels negatively affect economic returns.

The Prevalence of Bacterial Pathogens in Vegetable Salads and Juices in Urban West Region of Zanzibar, Tanzania

2024-12-05T15:36:21+01:00

Fruit juices and vegetable salads are the most common street foods vended in developing countries. Improperly processed juices and vegetables can cause food borne illnesses, which is a long-standing problem in Zanzibar. The study’s objective was to determine the bacterial quality in the vegetable salads and juices in Zanzibar. The cross-sectional design that involved field sampling of juices and vegetables was used. Bacteriological analysis was performed using standard techniques of culturing in designated media. The investigated samples were mango juice (n= 49), tamarind juice (n= 49), and vegetable salads (n= 98). One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to compare the mean bacterial counts between tamarind and mango juice as well as bacterial counts in salads. The result of this study revealed that 88/98 (89.7%) of salad samples had high counts of E. coli with colony-forming units between 2.7 × 10²to 7.8 × 10³and E. coli contamination levels of 55% (27/49) in tamarind juice and 30/49 (61%) in mango juice respectively. Salmonella Typhi was found in two samples of mango juice but none in tamarind juice and salad. The overall E. coli contamination level in all juices was 58%. Average Most Probable Number (MPN) of coliforms in tamarind and mango juice were 450.48 MPN/m and 952.08 MPN/ml, respectively. Comparatively, mango juice is more contaminated than tamarind juice. The majority of the juice and salads in the study were found to be severely contaminated, which implies that there was inadequate handling and hygiene during the food processing process. Health authorities should keep a close eye on the quality of food being sold on the streets.

Optimisation of α-Amylase and Amyloglucosidase Enzyme Concentration on Glucose Syrup Characteristics from Purple Sweet Potato (Ipomoea batatas L var. Antin 2)

2024-11-18T15:00:31+01:00

This study investigated the impact of α-amylase and amyloglucosidase enzyme concentrations on purple sweet potato glucose syrup production. The results demonstrated that higher α-amylase levels enhanced total dissolved solids and reduced sugar content during liquefaction, while an optimal amyloglucosidase concentration of 0.8 mL/kg maximized yield and reduced sugar content during saccharification. The resulting syrup exhibited high antioxidant activity and adjustable viscosity. Enzymatic hydrolysis using amyloglucosidase proved superior to acid hydrolysis in producing high-quality glucose syrup. Purple sweet potato glucose syrup emerges as a promising functional natural sweetener with potential health benefits and commercial value.

Effect of Vine Harvesting Frequency on Sweetpotato Root Yield Components and Gross Income in Southern Mozambique

2024-11-13T22:40:41+01:00

Sweetpotato is widely produced by smallholder farmers in Mozambique with average yield of 7.3 t/ha. One of the challenges in sweetpotato production system is inadequate seed during the rainy season resulting in low productivity. The few sweetpotato seed multipliers (Decentralized vine multipliers (DVMs)) resort to several vine harvesting frequency to meet farmers seed requirements at the peak of demand. Repeated vine harvesting contributes to sweetpotato root yield reduction. The objective of the study was to evaluate the effect of vine harvesting frequency on sweetpotato yield components. Three experiments were set up in three farmers’ fields in Vilankulos district inhambane province in Southern Mozambique in the 2021/2022 and 2022/2023 cropping seasons with a sweetpotato variety Esther. The experiments were set up in randomized complete block design with three replications in each farmer’s field. The treatments were no vine harvesting (control), harvesting only once at 8 weeks after planting (WAP), harvesting twice at 8 and 12 WAP, and harvesting three times at 8, 12, and 16 WAP. Total storage root yield, number of roots per plant, root diameter, and root length were measured in each treatment. Results show that storage root yield was significantly higher in control (22.1 t/ha) and harvesting once (17.8 t/ha) compared to harvesting twice (11.8 t/ha) and three times (9 t/ha) (P < 0.05). Additional harvesting from one to two resulted in 33.7% yield decline. Vine harvesting twice resulted in 46.6% storage root yield decline compared to the control treatment. The same observation was noted for the number of roots per plant, where five roots per plant were observed both in no harvesting and harvesting once treatments. A 40% decline in the number of roots per plant was observed when vine harvesting frequency was increased from one to two. No treatment effect was observed on the root diameter. Increasing vine harvesting frequency from one to two or one to three resulted in a 14.7% income loss from sales of both vines and roots. Vine multipliers are recommended to harvest vines for use as planting material only once if they want to benefit from the roots for consumption or commercialization.