A laboratory in situ composting study was conducted as a possible alternative method for the current practice of open air burning of post-harvest sugarcane residue by sugarcane farmers. In situ composting of the sugarcane residue by the indigenous bacteria and fungi was accelerated using molasses as an initial substrate. A one-time application of molasses boosted the soil microbial population. ...

• Incorporation of price risk into decision making process is fundamentally important. Both historical price information and projected future price come into play. Due to the usual lengthy gap between planning and harvest, expected price is the dominant factor. Given that many agricultural commodities are represented in the future and option markets, it is a common practice to infer the collect...

Introduction As successive strategy and policy papers have emphasized, agriculture is the most important economic sub-sector in Papua New Guinea. We are constantly told that agriculture provides the livelihood for about 85 per cent of the economically active population. The agriculture sector covers the activities of the private and public sector in cropping, animal husbandry, management of lan...

The activity of ionically bound peroxidases from an asparagus spear increased from 5-24 h post-harvest. Isoelectric focusing showed that the post-harvest increase of the total peroxidase activity was due to the increase of several distinct isoperoxidases. Concomitantly, a decrease in the activity of two anionic peroxidases was observed. Peroxidases with pI 5.9, 6.4 and 9.2 were detected only at...