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. ...

The study assessed the post-harvest management information needs of yam farmers in Kogi State. Interview schedules were used to collect data from 189 yam farmers who were randomly selected from the four agricultural zones of the State (Zone A, B, C and D) by using multistage random sampling techniques. The data collected were subjected to descriptive statistics and binary logit regression. Resu...

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...

Since its initial emergence in the 1970s, Campylobacter has become one of the most common causative agents of bacterial foodborne illness. Campylobacter species readily colonize the gastrointestinal tracts of domestic, feral and wild animals and while they rarely cause clinical disease in food animals, they can produce severe acute gastroenteritis in humans. Prevalence of Campylobacter in food ...

To investigate the role of polyamines in pre- and post-harvest fruit development of 'Akatsuki' peach (Prunus persica (L.) Batsch.) we measured polyamine concentrations, activities of polyamine biosynthetic enzymes and expression of genes encoding these enzymes. Concentrations of the free polyamines, putrescine (Put), spermidine (Spd) and spermine (Spm) in pre-harvest fruit peaked 16 days after ...