Agriculture and Food Sciences Research

Chemical analysis of cocoa butters and risk assessment of production processes in five localities in Cameroon

Nelly Ndee Mougang — 2025-02-28

The quality of the cocoa product depends on the post-harvest treatment processes and the extraction method used; therefore, it is important to control the conditions applied to obtain a product of recommended quality. This study aimed to identify the critical stages in the post-harvest treatment and extraction of butter and to propose solutions for controlling them to obtain a product of good chemical quality. A survey of post-harvest treatments and extraction methods for cocoa butter (Theobroma cacao L.) was carried out, after which the critical control points of the process were determined. Samples of butter were collected from producers in various localities, and chemical analyses of fat were conducted. Three production methods were identified: artisanal, semi-industrial, and industrial. The producers of this semi-finished product were mainly women aged between 40 and 50 with no education. The cocoa butters marketed were generally of poor chemical quality. Oils from Yaoundé producers were overall the most chemically acceptable, while those from Douala were less so. These data suggest that producers should take these factors into account when post-harvesting cocoa beans and extracting the fat to guarantee a more stable, high-quality product.

Sustainable biomass sourcing through agroforestry systems based on poplar and eucalyptus as fast-growing trees

Niels Thevs — 2025-04-04

Global biomass demand is expected to increase during the next decades, which bears risks of accelerating food insecurity and biodiversity loss. Therefore, guidelines and standards have been developed to ensure sustainable biomass sourcing as feedstock for material or energetic purposes. This review addresses the question of how fast-growing trees in agroforestry systems increase biomass production and serve as sustainably sourced biomass feedstock. The Land Equivalency Ratio (LER), a measure of productivity gains by agroforestry, was positively correlated with the number of trees per hectare (R = 0.561) and with the spacing between tree rows (R = 0.26). The former corresponds to a high wood yield of the given agroforestry systems, while the latter corresponds to high crop yields within the agroforestry systems. The LER of tree windbreak systems (spacing between tree rows >100 m) was 1.1-2.1. Tree windbreak systems adhered to principles of sustainable biomass sourcing, while other agroforestry systems often provided lower food crop yields compared to the corresponding crop monoculture. Still, such agroforestry systems help to diversify incomes, have the potential to protect croplands against erosion, and improve the microclimate. Depending on local conditions, biomass from those agroforestry systems can be considered sustainable, too.

Effect of extrusion process parameters on the overall acceptability of snacks produced from aerial yam and soybean flour mixture

Umoh, Enobong Okon — 2025-04-04

This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of extrusion cooking parameters on the overall acceptability of the snacks produced from aerial yam and soybean flour mixture. Design Expert (version 11.0.1) was used in the experimental design, with a three-factor experimental setup at five levels each. The aerial yam and soybean flour mixture was formulated in the ratio of 1:3 and extruded using a laboratory-scale single-screw extruder. Response Surface Methodology was adopted in analyzing the effect of the independent variables on the dependent variable. Results showed that the overall acceptability scores ranged from 4.20 to 7.10. Response surface analysis revealed that an increase in barrel temperature, screw speed, and feed moisture resulted in an increase in overall acceptability. The overall acceptability of the snacks was significantly (p < 0.05) affected by barrel temperature and feed moisture, while the screw speed had no significant (p > 0.05) effect on overall acceptability. The interaction of the extrusion cooking parameters had a significant (p < 0.05) effect on the overall acceptability of the snacks. The high range of scores recorded for the snacks indicates that the aerial yam and soybean composite flour extruded snacks were generally well accepted by the panelists.

Application of shiitake and maitake extracts to wheat flour and their effect on technological and baking properties

Tatiana Bojnanska — 2025-04-09

Shiitake and maitake extracts were added to composite flours in the amounts of 5%, 7.5%, and 10%, which subsequently changed the basic technological properties of the composite flours. Compared to control flour, wet gluten content decreased only slightly, but gluten swelling and gluten extensibility decreased significantly. Falling number, Zeleny sedimentation volume, and crude protein also decreased. The experimental loaves were baked from composite flours and evaluated by Volscan. The weight of the experimental loaves decreased in proportion to the amount of addition of medicinal mushroom extract. The volume and specific volume of the experimental loaf decreased with the addition of maitake extract in proportion to its amount. The addition of shiitake extracts in the amount of 5% increased the volume and specific volume of the experimental loaf; however, higher additions (7.5%, 10%) reduced the evaluated parameters in the case of shiitake extract. Nevertheless, all additions were technologically acceptable, and the differences in technological quality of experimental loaves compared to control loaves were not significant. These types of designed foods with nutritional benefits have potential for producers and are desirable to consumers.

Freeze assisted-aqueous extraction of rapeseed oil using Tween 20

Ibrahim Alimari — 2025-04-09

The traditional oil extraction methods often rely on organic solvents, raising environmental and health concerns, while aqueous extraction offers a potentially greener alternative. Therefore, the present study attempted to investigate the feasibility of the aqueous extraction of oil from rapeseed (canola) using a food-grade surfactant (Tween 20). The physicochemical properties of the rapeseed (moisture, ash, protein, and oil content) were first determined. The effects of key parameters, including seed-to-water ratio, Tween 20 concentration, pH, and pre-treatment temperature and time, were evaluated using a one-factor-at-a-time approach. According to our findings, the optimal oil extraction conditions were as follows: seed-to-water ratio 1:10, Tween 20 concentration 1.4 wt%, pH 12.0, pre-treatment temperature/time combination 190°C/30 min. Under the optimal conditions, an oil extraction yield of 50.5% was achieved. The impact of the pre-treatment step (before or after grinding the seeds) also showed that thermal treatment (190°C/30 min) prior to grinding was much more efficient. Additionally, freezing and rapid defrosting treatments yielded comparable results to the optimized aqueous extraction. The results suggest that aqueous extraction with Tween 20, particularly with optimized pre-treatment, offers a viable alternative to solvent-based methods, although further optimization is needed to match the higher yield of the solvent extraction method.

Understanding cowpea yield: A comprehensive analysis of physiological traits' contribution through path analysis

Ankrumah Emmanuel — 2025-04-09

This study investigates the physiological processes affecting the grain yield of cowpea (Vigna unguiculata), a key protein, vitamin, and mineral source in human diets. Gaining an understanding of these mechanisms can be crucial for developing high-yielding cowpea varieties in breeding programs. A field experiment was conducted with 30 treatments, including three sowing dates (Early August, Late August, Early September) and ten cowpea genotypes (UAM09-1051-1, UAM09-1046-6-1, UAM14-126-L33, IT99K-573-1-1, IT89KD-288, UAM14-126-L6, UAM14-122-17-7, UAM14-123-18-3, UAM14-127-20-1-1, and UAM14-130-20-4). These treatments were arranged in a split-plot design within a Randomized Complete Block Design, replicated three times. Key physiological traits like Leaf Area Index (LAI), Intercepted Photosynthetically Active Radiation (IPAR), Stomatal Conductance, Photosynthetic Rate, Transpiration Rate, and Chlorophyll Content were measured. Data collected were analyzed using correlation and path coefficient methods; the results showed significant positive correlations between grain yield and traits like LAI, stomatal conductance, and photosynthetic rate. In contrast, the transpiration rate negatively correlated with yield. Path analysis revealed that the net photosynthetic rate had the most direct impact on grain yield, highlighting its role in photosynthesis and grain filling. The study suggests that cowpea breeding efforts should focus on improving photosynthetic efficiency and optimizing traits like LAI and stomatal conductance to boost cowpea grain yields.

The potential of specific profilin based fingerprinting differs in legume species

Adam Kovacik — 2025-06-25

One requirement for using germplasm in agricultural development initiatives is its characterization, which necessitates knowledge of the genetic polymorphism and relationships among the individual varieties. Up to now, different DNA markers were utilized for this purposed, one of the newest are those for coding regions. Here, we aimed to investigate polymorphism and genetic relationships among 24 varieties of Cicer arietinum L. and 23 varieties of Pisum sativum L. using profilin based fingerprinting. PCR approach was used to generate homologue amplicons of plant profilins and UPGMA grouping for visualization of obtained fingerprint similarity. Amplification results showed different results for analysed legume species, where the higher polymorphism at the level of 96% was obtained within the accessions of pea varieties, as for chickpea fingerprints a very similar profiles were generated with only a limited amplicons of a total of three different length of 150 bp, 182 bp and 348 bp. This information could be useful in breeding strategies for the improvement of chickpea and pea accessions.

On-farm evaluation of fertilizer recommendation methods: Impacts on rice yield and economic benefits in subtropical soils

Md. Enamul Haque — 2025-06-25

Bangladesh publishes fertilizer recommendations but most farmers do not use these recommendations. In this study, we tested the performance of the Fertilizer Recommendation Guide (FRG), Rice Crop Manager (RCM) and Soil Testing Kit (STK) for determining fertilizer requirements of monsoon rice (Oryza sativa L) against Farmers’ Fertilizer Practice (FFP). Rates of nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, sulfur and zinc were determined by four methods and used on 72 farmer’s fields in five agro-ecological zones (AEZ) over two years. All methods produced significantly higher grain yield than FFP (4.12 t ha-1): they were 13.8%, 9.6% and 8.3% higher for STK, RCM and FRG, respectively. RCM didn’t perform consistently across the locations. Overall, the STK performed the best followed by FRG. The superiority of STK is attributed to its assessment of current soil status while the FRG recommendation is grounded on an older data set of soil analysis for each AEZ. The N dose was comparable among the methods while P dose was much higher for FFP, and RCM underestimated the K requirement of rice. Farmers declined to adopt the STK. By contrast, the supply of FRG information to the farmers by providing a simplified card with training is a simple and accessible technology.

Assessment of productivity of spring and winter wheat sorts from China and Pakistan in high mountain Tajikistan

Kozimamad A Abdulamonov — 2025-06-25

Wheat is a staple crop and critical for food security in the high mountains of Tajikistan. Despite the local and introduced varieties of wheat, overall yields remain low and crops are vulnerable to diseases and climatic shocks. To improve production, new adapted and disease-resistant crops are crucial. We tested ten spring wheat sorts from Pakistan and seven from China with higher yields, disease resistance, and shorter stems compared to local varieties. Local varieties performed better than foreign varieties in stem length (77% longer), 25% more grains in the main spike, 45% longer main spike, 4% more spikelets in the main spike, and more productive tillers. Foreign cultivars had shorter morphogenic events, 16% higher grain weight in the main spike, 23% higher weight of 1000 grain, and 11% more grains per spikelet. Yield components and morpho-physiological traits for Chinese cultivars were weakly correlated. The main phenotypic traits affecting crop yield components were general and productive tillering. In contrast to Chinese cultivars, the main crop yield component values of local cultivars negatively interacted with most genotypic and phenotypic traits. Foreign cultivars were less susceptible to lodging and diseases; however, their shorter stems made them less attractive to local farmers.