| Filling
the Post-Harvest Knowledge Gap
December 2004
The second volume of a major three-part reference work
edited by NRI's post-harvest specialists has recently
been published by Blackwell Publishing. Post-harvest
activities (food storage, processing and marketing)
are the backbone of the agricultural economies of most
developing countries, and offer huge potential to improve
the livelihoods of poor people in rural and peri-urban
communities, as well as being crucial to food security
and nutrition. However, authoritative information on
post-harvest principles, problems and best practice,
especially relating to developing countries, is very
difficult to find. To fill this knowledge gap, an editorial
team from NRI has been working with Blackwell Publishing
to produce a three-volume landmark series on post-harvest
technology and management, with a strong emphasis on
the developing world. Each volume draws on a wide range
of internationally-respected authors from NRI and other
institutions working on post-harvest issues.
 The
recently-published volume - Crop
Post-Harvest: Science and Technology, Volume 2, Durables,
edited by Rick Hodges and Graham Farrell - focuses on
durable commodities such as grains and other dry food
products. It presents information on the storage, processing
and marketing of cereals, pulses, oilseeds, nuts, beverages
and dried fish, using illustrative case studies from
around the world. Many of the chapters present contrasts
in the approaches to post-harvest management of the
same commodity in different countries. These highlight
the differences that exist in the levels of development
and sophistication of post-harvest systems, and demonstrate
how a diversity of technologies can be used to enable
successful handling and storage of durable commodities.
For more details or to order a copy, view
information about this book on Blackwell's web site.
 The
first volume - Crop Post-Harvest:
Science and Technology, Volume 1, Principles and Practice,
edited by Peter Golob, Graham Farrell and John E Orchard
- was published in late 2002. It gives readers an overview
of post-harvest science, technology and economics, and
outlines the development of storage and handling of
both perishable and durable food products. For more
details or to order a copy, view
information about this book on Blackwell's web site.
The third and final volume is due to be published within
the next 18 months and will deal with perishable horticultural
products.
Award-Winning
Research on Apple Leaf Midge
23 October 2004
Research by scientists from NRI and East Malling Research
(EMR)
has been honoured by an Environmental Award given by
the Worshipful Company of Fruiterers, sponsored by Waitrose.
Their work on the chemical structure of the pheromone
of the apple leaf midge won the prestigious prize in
the Research and Development category of the Awards
for 2004. The prize - consisting of a cheque for £2000,
an engraved glass rose bowl and a certificate - was
presented to Prof. David Hall of NRI and Jerry Cross
of EMR by the Lord Mayor of the City of London, Alderman
Robert Finch, at the Mansion House on Friday 22 October.
 |
| Winners
of the Worshipful Company of Fruiterers' Environmental
Awards after the presentation at the Mansion House
by the Lord Mayor of the City of London (David
Hall and Jerry Cross at right). |
 |
| Larvae
of apple leaf midge in a young shoot, causing
typical leaf curl. Photo: EMR |
The apple leaf midge (Dasineura mali Kieffer)
is an important pest of apples in the UK, mainland Europe,
New Zealand and North America. The larvae cause the
edges of the leaves to curl in characteristic galls,
and growth is stunted. In nurseries and in young orchards,
this pest can be devastating to the growing trees. Severe
attacks by the midge in mature orchards can greatly
reduce the photosynthetic area, adversely affecting
fruit size and cropping in the following year. The pest
has become resistant to conventional insecticides such
as chlorpyrifos and has recently been almost impossible
to control.
 |
|
Female apple leaf midge.Photo: EMR |
Scientists in New Zealand and Canada had previously
showed that female apple leaf midges produce a sex pheromone
that is highly attractive to the male midges. However,
despite much effort, they were unable to identify the
pheromone because of the very small amounts produced
and its unusual chemical structure. The NRI and EMR
team took up the challenge of identifying the pheromone
and exploring the possibilities for its use in management
of the pest, under a collaborative project funded by
Defra,
the East Malling Trust and the Horticultural Development
Council. A significant element of this challenge was
the minute scale of the pest. Referring to this, David
Hall notes that: "These midges are very short-lived,
very tiny and extremely difficult to handle. We found
that each female only produces 1.5 picograms (1.5 ×
10 -12 grams) of the pheromone."
During the first year of the project, the sex pheromone
was successfully identified and synthesized. Pheromone
was collected from over 2000 virgin female midges. The
collected material was first analysed by gas chromatography
linked to electroantennographic recording - which monitored
the response of a male midge - and then by mass spectrometry.
Once the chemical structure had been identified, the
pheromone was synthesized, and the synthetic material
was shown to be identical to the natural pheromone component.
The novel chemical structure of this pheromone is now
covered by a patent application.
 |
| Apple leaf
midge males caught on a sticky trap baited with
the synthetic pheromone.Photo: EMR |
Field experiments have been carried out in the UK this
past summer, and are now being continued by collaborators
in New Zealand. They have shown that the synthetic pheromone
is highly potent. Sticky traps baited with the pheromone
caught more than 1500 male midges in one morning. Lures
containing as little as one microgram of the pheromone
are effective for pest monitoring, and the lures attract
midges from more than 50 metres away. There is a good
relationship between trap catches and midge population
levels, and the catches are easy to count and interpret
because the traps only catch apple leaf midges. It was
originally envisaged that the synthetic pheromone would
be used mainly for pest monitoring. However, because
of the extreme potency of the compound, its possible
use for controlling the pest (by mass-trapping, mating
disruption or lure-and-kill) will now also be investigated
during the project.
Asked to comment on why this research effort has been
so successful, when others have failed to identify the
pheromone, Professor Hall said: "Combining the
teams from EMR and NRI has brought together experienced
entomologists, electrophysiologists, analytical chemists
and synthetic chemists in a collaborative effort that
can achieve more than any of these disciplines working
in isolation. We were also able to take advantage of
our considerable experience in electrophysiological
recording, our highly sensitive and dedicated GC-MS
equipment, and the large collection of standards of
pheromones and related compounds prepared at NRI."
Addressing
Poverty through Local Economic and Territorial Development
1 September 2004
The process of decentralization
in many developing countries is facing new and challenging
demands. Municipal and local governments are being given
increased responsibility to develop strategies that
will: (i) secure jobs; and (ii) revitalize local and
regional economies. These strategies are necessary to
support an increased emphasis on sustainable growth
and employment at local and regional levels, in the
context of targets for poverty reduction and economic
growth set both by developing countries’ governments
and by international development agencies.
In order to meet these demands,
NRI has established a new programme of work that
will guide and inform local economic and territorial
development. The core programme team (Dr
Junior Davis, Dr
Ana Marr, Felicity
Proctor and Julian
Quan) will be drawing on the wide experience of
staff across NRI in development policy, agricultural
and natural resource economics, social anthropology,
and social development. The programme’s activities
will aim both to reinforce good governance and to create
sustainable income-generating opportunities for local
communities, especially amongst the poorest. (More
details.)
For more information about this project please download
the flyer. [PDF 219Kb]
Commercial
Partnership to Develop Novel Bioassay
There is an urgent need for methods for the detection
of hazardous compounds in foods and drugs that do not
involve the use of animals.
The commercial partnership between the University of
Greenwich and the Kent-based innovative SME Crown
Bio Systems (CBS), that successfully developed the
Safe Soil Tester, is now addressing this need by developing
a novel bioassay (a biological assay) composed of specially
constructed strains of selected micro-organisms.
The University team is led by NRI’s Prof. Raymond
Coker and includes Dr Ivor Evans (Reader in Molecular
Genetics, School of Science), Martin Nagler (NRI Associate),
and Prof. Gordon Neal (Visiting Professor in Food Toxicology).
A molecular
geneticist is also being recruited. The CBS team
includes Xingmin Li who has just completed his PhD studies
with Prof. Coker and Dr Evans, and who is now based
in CBS’s new Bioscience Incubator for Toxic Hazards
at the Bio-innovation Centre in the School of Chemical
and Life Sciences, Nanyang
Polytechnic, Singapore. The Bioscience Incubator
was officially opened on 8 July 2004 by His Excellency
Alan Collins, the British High Commissioner to Singapore,
and will undertake research to develop and license diagnostic
tools for the rapid detection of toxins in foods and
drugs.
 |
| His Excellency Alan Collins
and Xingmin Li at the launch of the CBS Incubator
at Nanyang Polytechnic |
The quality of the University-CBS partnership has been
highlighted by the Director of Scientific Development
of CBS, who said “The recent collaboration of
Crown Bio Systems and the University of Greenwich to
deliver the Safe Soil Tester was a real achievement,
and I think we all recognise that its success was down
to good team work, shared capability and excellent research
facilities. I therefore believe that we should harness
and apply this winning formula to the research and development
of the bioassay for the detection of food and drug toxins.”
Prof Coker describes the project as “an excellent
opportunity to undertake exciting, cutting-edge work
and to produce a high quality, marketable product.”
The University of Greenwich will benefit from the successful
exploitation of the IPR
generated by the project.
The project is jointly funded by Crown Bio Systems
and BAE
Systems.
| Yam
Culture: Positive Developments - Winning Photograph
26 May 2004
 |
Seed yam sales
in West Africa's largest yam market, Techiman,
Ghana
Photo
© Danny Coyne (International Institute
of Tropical Agriculture) |
Yam (Dioscorea
species) has its centre of origin in West Africa
where 90% of world production currently occurs.
In West Africa yam is steeped in cultural history
and revered as a cultural symbol of fertility,
for example it is an essential element of marriages
in many cultures. However, due to declining land
availability, reduced fallow systems, and pests
and diseases, yam yields are decreasing. This
production decline is also attributed to poor
quality and availability of seed yam (which are
small pieces of yam used to grow full size yams).
Work currently underway, has highlighted the extreme
nature of the problem in some areas, with a scarcity
of seed material and devastating levels of disease
infestation on available seed material. Some of
the most highly prized varieties also appear to
be amongst those in shortest supply and most diseased
and therefore most at risk of possible permanent
loss. Intervention to prevent such losses of important
germplasm is required. Research currently being
carried out by the Diocesan Development Service,
the Natural Resources Institute and the International
Institute of Tropical Agriculture, is aimed at
developing a system for the promotion of healthy
seed yam and consequently the conservation of
important germplasm, improving yam production
and conserving the environment. Improved yields
require less land and therefore reduce the need
for forest and bush fallow clearance, which is
necessary for the nutrient demanding yams.
Project R8278: Evaluation and
promotion of crop protection practices for 'clean'
seed yam production systems in central Nigeria
Project leader: Lawrence
Kenyon, Natural Resources Institute, University
of Greenwich
|
Natural
Resources International (NRIL) recently organized
a "Positive Developments" photographic
competition to showcase some of the good work
being done under the DFID Renewable Natural Resources
Programmes. The winning photo, submitted by Danny
Coyne of IITA, was from project R8278 "Evaluation
and promotion of crop protection practices for
'clean' seed yam production systems in central
Nigeria" led by Lawrence Kenyon (Agriculture, Health and Environment Group, NRI). The winning
photograph and 19 runner up submissions are on
display in an exhibition at the Eden
Project 16-25 May 2004 after which the exhibition
will move to DFID HQ (1 Palace St. London).
Positive Developments:
A book containing all 49 of the photographs and
stories submitted to the competition is available
(Price £5) from NRIL or from the Eden Project.
(or
as a pdf here)
What the judges said....
Tim
Smit: Superb photo, important project.
Clare
Short: Saving yam and improving seed
is very important for West Africa
Yann
Arthus-Bertrand: An important project
because yam is an essential staple food for local
people
Richard
Smith: Great photo - research such
as this is vital for yams to continue as the West
African 'King of crops'
|
E-conference
on Water Use
10 May 2004
 |
| Water
for livestock in peri-urban Cochabamba,
Bolivia. |
| ©
University of Greenwich |
|
NRI is helping to organize an e-conference on “Tackling
Poverty Through Multiple-Use Water Services”.
The e-conference, running from 17 May to 25 June, is
being coordinated by the IRC-led
Thematic Group on Productive Uses of Water at the Household
Level (Prodwat) of which NRI is a core member. The e-conference
is a follow-up to the January 2003 international symposium
on “Poverty and Productive Uses of Water at the
Household Level” (see statement and symposium
proceedings here).
Participants in the e-conference will have the opportunity
to widen and explore current thinking on the small-scale
household-level productive uses of water in people’s
livelihoods. The e-conference will be divided into three
successive sessions, each lasting ten days, addressing
the following three themes:
• Current experiences with multiple-use systems
and services
• What are the lessons learned?
• How do we (and should we) go forward?
 |
| Watering
vegetables with domestic water in South
Africa. |
| ©
University of Greenwich |
|
Submitted case-studies (up to four pages long) are
welcomed and will be shared with the e-conference participants.
The e-conference is taking place in parallel in English
and Spanish. The English conference is being facilitated
by IRC,
and the Spanish one by Cinara.
For further information, including a background paper
about the e-conference, visit the web site at http://www.irc.nl/prodwat.
To register for the e-conference, contact Laurent
Stravato for the English version or Ines
Restrepo for the Spanish version.
Commercial Partnership Develops
Safe Soil Tester™
28 March 2004
 |
| Dr
Muffadal Ezzi, senior research scientist
at CBS, tests soil for pollution using the
innovative Safe Soil Tester™ developed
jointly by NRI and CBS (photo Brian Bell,
London Press Service). |
 |
The
Safe Soil Tester™. |
| ©
University of Greenwich |
|
An innovative instrument for on-site soil testing has
been developed by a commercial partnership between a
University of Greenwich team (led by NRI’s Prof.
Ray Coker) and the Kent-based innovative SME
Crown Bio Systems (CBS), together with an instrument-design
company and specialist consultants. The successful venture
was supported by funding of about £1 million from
the UK Department of Trade and Industry under EUREKA,
a European programme for development and marketing of
equipment (see www.eureka.be).
The instrument is now being field-tested by collaborators
in the UK and Ireland.
The new Safe Soil Tester™ has been designed to
provide rapid screening of soil samples from brownfield
sites, for the detection and mapping of contaminants
such as pesticides or pollutants from manufacturing
processes (especially PAHs).
Prof. Coker describes the use of the portable, hand-held
Tester as “a cost-effective, on-the-spot, rapid
screening test” and notes that it “is a
vast improvement on current time-consuming and expensive
chemical procedures.” He adds that “It is
about seven times cheaper and can be readily used by
those unskilled in chemical analysis.”
The evaluation of brownfield sites for pollutants and
contaminants is of growing commercial importance. For
example, as Prof. Coker has remarked “It is estimated
that 3.8 million new homes will be required in the UK
by 2016, and to reduce further encroachment into rural
areas the Government is encouraging the use of brownfield
sites.” The rapid screening provided by the Safe
Soil Tester™ has obvious application in assessing
whether a brownfield site is suitable for housing development
or whether remediation will be required.
The market for this technology is being driven by legislation
in Europe, USA and Japan, where notification of contaminated
land, clean-up and certification is now being enforced
and where the numbers of suspected contaminated sites
are estimated to run into millions. CBS is currently
promoting awareness of the uses of the Safe Soil Tester™
for real-time assessment and monitoring of land, and
is in discussion with multinational companies based
in Germany and Japan for the sale of licences or the
negotiation of royalty agreements. The University of
Greenwich is a beneficiary of the exploitation of the
IPR.
The importance of NRI’s capabilities in detection
of toxins for the success of the EUREKA project have
been acknowledged by the Managing Director of CBS, who
said “The University of Greenwich has the specialist
facilities required for the handling of toxic compounds
and the ability to put together a first-rate multidisciplinary
team.” NRI’s specialized toxic hazards suite
is central to such work, and CBS is now planning further
commercial ventures with NRI focused on our skills and
facilities in toxin detection.
For more information about the Safe Soil Tester™,
visit the Crown
Bio Systems website.
Academic
Collaboration in Uzbekistan
1 March 2004
A three-year curriculum-development project in Uzbekistan
– funded by the EC Tempus programme and led by
one of NRI’s food management experts, David Walker
– has concluded with a major seminar at Bukhara
Technological Institute of Food and Light Industry (BTIFLI)
to review the achievements in the context of SMEs
and disseminate the outputs. The seminar – entitled
“The Role of International Projects in the Development
of Small and Medium Sized Enterprises with Reference
to Economic Liberalization” – was held on
17-18 February 2004 and was attended by over 300 participants,
including David Walker and other members of the project
team from the University of Greenwich Business School,
Larenstein University of Professional Education, and
the Bukhara Technological Institute.
 |
| NRI’s David Walker presenting
his paper at the seminar. Those shown are (left
to right): Lee Williams, Principal Lecturer, University
of Greenwich Business School; Arnold van Wulfften
Palthe, Larenstein University of Professional Education,
Netherlands; Professor Mukhsin Hodjiev, Bukhara
Technological Institute of Food and Light Industry;
David Walker, NRI; and Ms Aziza Abdurakhmanova,
EC Tempus Programme Co-ordinator for Uzbekistan. |
The wider objective of the Tempus project was to enable
BTIFLI to respond to the changing needs of national
and regional transitional market reform, and to agro-industrial
development programmes, by providing education and vocational
training that is both relevant and up-to-date, especially
for the needs of local SMEs. Specifically, the project
aim was to allow BTIFLI to offer a recognized and validated
four-year Bachelor programme in economics of agricultural
commodities by providing curriculum development for
the third and fourth years of the degree. Recruitment
to the programme commenced in 2001 and has continued
since, demonstrating ongoing student demand for the
award as well as commitment by the Uzbekistan Ministry
of Higher and Specialized Education.
After the project inception meeting at Greenwich and
Medway in April 2001, attended by senior staff of the
University of Greenwich, of BTIFLI and of Larenstein
University, the first priority was to identify the skill
needs of commercial agro-industrial companies in the
Bukhara region to underpin the curriculum development.
Seven existing Year 3 courses were revised and upgraded
under the leadership of the Larenstein partners, and
ten new customized courses for Years 3 and 4 were designed
and developed under the leadership of the Greenwich
team. In addition to curriculum development and quality
assurance, the project partners collaborated on: improvement
of English language competence for international staff;
an audit of library resources at BTIFLI; procurement
of books, journal and videos, plus equipment to produce
translated copies of teaching materials provided by
Greenwich and Larenstein; a detailed audit of laboratory
and classroom equipment; procurement of learning and
teaching resources, including IT provision; refresher
training for Bukhara teaching staff, including observation
of British and Dutch approaches in higher education;
and achievement of full validation of the new courses
by BTIFLI, and approval by the Uzbekistan Ministry of
Education. These activities were all successfully completed.
The Dean of Faculty of Business and Management visited
NRI at the end of 2003. Following his visit and the
success of the project, NRI and BTIFLI have signed a
joint agreement for continued academic collaboration
between the two Institutes. This includes provision
for exchange of expertise amongst academic staff, sharing
of information and teaching materials, and mutual support
to undergraduate and postgraduate students.
For more information, contact David Walker by e-mail
or visit the website
of BTIFLI's Faculty of Business and Management.
Armyworm
Research Gets Media Attention
January 2004
 |
| African
armyworm outbreak |
| ©
University of Greenwich |
|
NRI’s research on natural biological control
of the African armyworm, Spodoptera exempta,
has been gaining media attention. Following a press
release by the University of Greenwich, an article
about the work appeared on 13 December in the New Scientist’s
‘This week’ section carrying news
of interesting and significant research. Subsequently,
Sir Tam Dalyell MP (writer of a regular column in New
Scientist, a former shadow science minister, and longest-serving
current Member of the UK Parliament) wrote to DFID,
highlighting the New Scientist article and urging them
to support more such research on natural biological
control. The research, led by David Grzywacz, leader
of NRI’s Agriculture, Health and Environment Group, has been
featured in several local Medway newspapers and has
also attracted interest from broadcasting media, with
plans for a television item on BBC South East Today
and for inclusion in a forthcoming BBC World Service
radio programme sponsored by DFID. The story
has also been publicized by the London Press Service.
The armyworm is a major threat to food production
in many eastern and southern African countries. During
outbreaks, the armyworm caterpillars swarm across hundreds
of thousands of hectares of crops at densities of over
1000 larvae per square metre, commonly causing overall
crop losses of 30% in the affected areas and over 90%
losses of maize in peak years. Armyworm outbreaks can
be controlled by spraying chemical insecticides but
these are too expensive for subsistence farmers or their
governments and pose a threat to natural environments,
beneficial insects and human health. Natural biological
control agents such as the armyworm nucleopolyhedrovirus
(NPV) are species-specific and thus environmentally
safe. Such agents are increasingly being developed commercially,
but are still too expensive for resource-poor farmers,
especially if they have to be imported.
 |
| Armyworm
killed by NPV |
| ©
University of Greenwich |
|
The NRI team has been researching armyworm NPV with
scientists in Tanzania’s Ministry of Agriculture
& Food and in other UK research institutions. Their
joint field trials over the last two years have shown
that NPV can be highly effective in controlling armyworm
if sprayed early in an outbreak. The team has therefore
developed an outbreak-forecasting system that combines
local ‘scouting’ using pheromone traps with
satellite weather data and armyworm population models.
Using an approach tried in countries such as Brazil
for low-cost local production of NPVs against other
pests, the team is now testing the feasibility and efficacy
of systems for collecting and processing NPV from dead
larvae that have contracted the disease in natural armyworm
outbreaks. If successful, this will allow Tanzania,
and neighbouring countries, to manage outbreaks of one
of their most serious pests with a locally-produced
low-cost control agent.
Similar approaches to pest management in Kenya by
David Grzywacz and his team under DFID’s Crop
Protection Programme, managed by Dr Frances Kimmins
of NR International, made a major contribution to NR
International’s recent success in being named
by the British Consultants & Construction Bureau
as the top Small Consultancy Firm of the Year 2003 for
assisting in the introduction of natural pest control
to help Kenyan farmers and horticulturalists export
more produce, improve domestic yields and alleviate
poverty (more).
For more information on the African armyworm biological
control project, contact David Grzywacz by e-mail
or download the .pdf
file giving the background to the armyworm problem
and the research being undertaken.
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