Growing Kalo (Taro) in the Continental United States.

As an increasing number of Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander adults move to the continental United States, the development and implementation of resources that promote access to cultural foods and support food sovereignty on the continent is crucial to perpetuate cultural practice and connection to the 'aina (land that feeds). Kalo (taro) is an important cultural food central to Native Hawaiian identity. Native Hawaiians connect their genealogy as far back to the cultivation of kalo and the creation of kalo itself. In this practice note, we describe the creation of a mala kalo (cultivated field for taro) in Oregon by the Ka'aha Lahui O 'Olekona Hawaiian Civic Club. An ongoing project over the past 3 years, the creation of a mala kalo exceeded expectations. Not only did the mala allow the cultivation of kalo outside of Hawaii, the mala became a place for the community to unite toward common goals of connecting with the land, promoting mental health, and creating a sense of place in their diaspora. This project indicates that not only is the creation of mala kalo in Oregon feasible, it may also be an important opportunity for the growing number of Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders adults living on the continent to improve health outcomes through connections with cultural foods and practices.

Assessment of Colocasia esculenta leaf extract as a natural alternative for Sitophilus zeamais control: Toxicological, biochemical, and mechanistic insights.

The present study assessed the toxicological, biochemical, and mechanism of action of Colocasia esculenta leaf extract (CELE) on Wistar albino rat and on cholinergic, antioxidant, and antiinflammatory enzymes in Sitophilus zeamais. This was with a view to assessing the potential benefits and safety profile of CELE as a natural alternative for insect control. The bioactivity of the fraction was evaluated using insecticidal and repellent activities against colonies of Sitophilus zeamais to obtain a VLC-chromatographed fraction which was spectroscopically characterized and investigated for enzyme inhibition. The results revealed the ethyl acetate fraction (EAF) as the most potent one with LC50 6.198 µg/ml and 6.6 ± 0.5 repellency. The EAF had an LD50 > 5000 mg/kg but repeated dose >800 mg/kgbw po administration caused significant (p < 0.05) increase in liver and kidney function biomarkers accompanied with elevated atherogenic and coronary indices. Also, renal and hepatomorphological lesions increased in a dose-dependent manner. The High-Performance Liquid Chromatography analysis profiled 7 unknown compounds while the GC-qMS revealed 103 compounds in the CC6 fraction allowing for their identification, quantification, and providing insights into the biological activities and its potentials application. The CC6 fraction inhibited glutathione S-transferase (IC50 = 2265.260.60 mg/ml), superoxide dismutase (IC50 = 1485.300.78 mg/ml), catalase (IC50 = 574.471.57 mg/ml), acetyl cholinesterase (IC50 = 838.280.51 mg/ml), butyryl cholinesterase (IC50 = 1641.76 ± 1.14 mg/ml) and upregulated cyclooxygenase-2 (IC50 = 37.89 ± 0.15 mg/ml). Based on the result of the study, it could be inferred that the unidentified compounds present in the EAF exhibit strong insecticidal properties. The study concluded that the acute toxicity of the potent fraction showed no abnormal clinical toxic symptoms while a repeated dose of the extract in sub-acute studies showed a toxic effect that is dose-dependent. The mechanism of action of the purified fraction could be said to be by inhibition of cholinergic and antioxidant enzymes. However, the potent fraction also upregulated the activity of anti-inflammatory enzymes. Hence, regulated amount of CELE at a repeated dose <800 mg/kgbw could be considered for use as an anti-pest agent in Integrated Pest Management of Sitophilus zeamais.

Dissipation behavior, residue distribution, and dietary risk assessment of fluopimomide and dimethomorph in taro using HPLC-MS/MS.

Dimethomorph is a morpholine broad-spectrum fungicide and effectively controls taro blight, cucumber downy mildew, rice blast disease, and others. Fluopimomide is a newly developed broad-spectrum fungicide to primarily control oomycetes and rhizoctonia diseases. Taro, one of the earliest cultivated crops, is a staple food in Africa, Oceania, and Asia. Recently, a commercial suspension concentrate formulation containing 15% fluopimomide and 25% dimethomorph has been registered in China, the second largest taro producer in the world. The objective of this study was to develop a high-performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry method to detect the residues of fluopimomide and dimethomorph concurrently in taro samples. The results showed that the average recoveries of fluopimomide and dimethomorph ranged from 83 to 108%, and relative standard deviations (RSD) ranged from 1 to 11%. The limit of quantitation (LOQ) was 0.01 mg kg-1 for the two compounds. The dissipation results demonstrated that both fluopimomide and dimethomorph in taro degraded rapidly in taro fields, and the residues of the two fungicides were below the LOQ within 14 days post-application. The final residue levels of fluopimomide and dimethomorph in taro were lower than 0.066 mg kg-1 28 days post-application. For dietary risk assessments, the dietary structure of different genders and age of people in China exposure risk assessment and whole diet exposure risk assessment shows that the risk quotient (RQ) values were substantially lower than 100%, suggesting that the long-term risks of fluopimomide/dimethomorph mixed formulation in taro at the recommended dosage were negligible. In summary, our combined results from the dissipation behaviors, terminal residues, and dietary risk assessments provide the critical empirical data for the establishment of the maximum residue levels (MRLs) of the two broad-spectrum fungicides in taro, a traditional food for African, Oceanic, and South Asian cultures.

Multi-criteria suitability analysis for neglected and underutilised crop species in South Africa.

Several neglected and underutilised species (NUS) provide solutions to climate change and creating a Zero Hunger world, the Sustainable Development Goal 2. Several NUS are drought and heat stress-tolerant, making them ideal for improving marginalised cropping systems in drought-prone areas. However, owing to their status as NUS, current crop suitability maps do not include them as part of the crop choices. This study aimed to develop land suitability maps for selected NUS [sorghum, (Sorghum bicolor), cowpea (Vigna unguiculata), amaranth and taro (Colocasia esculenta)] using Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) in ArcGIS. Multidisciplinary factors from climatic, soil and landscape, socio-economic and technical indicators overlaid using Weighted Overlay Analysis. Validation was done through field visits, and area under the curve (AUC) was used to measure AHP model performance. The results indicated that sorghum was highly suitable (S1) = 2%, moderately suitable (S2) = 61%, marginally suitable (S3) = 33%, and unsuitable (N1) = 4%, cowpea S1 = 3%, S2 = 56%, S3 = 39%, N1 = 2%, amaranth S1 = 8%, S2 = 81%, S3 = 11%, and taro S1 = 0.4%, S2 = 28%, S3 = 64%, N1 = 7%, of calculated arable land of SA (12 655 859 ha). Overall, the validation showed that the mapping exercises exhibited a high degree of accuracies (i.e. sorghum AUC = 0.87, cowpea AUC = 0.88, amaranth AUC = 0.95 and taro AUC = 0.82). Rainfall was the most critical variable and criteria with the highest impact on land suitability of the NUS. Results of this study suggest that South Africa has a huge potential for NUS production. The maps developed can contribute to evidence-based and site-specific recommendations for NUS and their mainstreaming. Also, the maps can be used to design appropriate production guidelines and to support existing policy frameworks which advocate for sustainable intensification of marginalised cropping systems through increased crop diversity and the use of stress-tolerant food crops.

Ethnobotany of Medicinal Plants Used by Rakhine Indigenous Communities in Patuakhali and Barguna District of Southern Bangladesh.

An extensive study has been made to identify, document, and investigate the ethnomedicinal plants used by Rakhine ethnic minorities in Patuakhali and Barguna District of southern Bangladesh for the term of April 2018 to June 2019. In this article, we have focused on the Rakhine population trends, management concerns, and some actions for conserving the Rakhine population diversity in the study area. In this study, we have identified the locations where Rakhine population lives in Patuakhali and Barguna districts. A total of 86 plant species belonging to 71 genera and 43 families were reported to be used for treating more than 57 various physical ailments under 14 illness categories from the study area. For each of the species, the botanic name, common name, Rakhine name, family, habit, parts used and traditional medicinal uses of the plant species have been presented. The maximum numbers of ethnomedicinal plant species were utilized to treat gastrointestinal complaints (43) taken after by the treatment of dermatological issues (36). The highly cited (75.60%) plant species were found to be Ananas comosus and Aegle marmelos used for gastro-intestinal (Stomach pain, indigestion, and dysentery) digestive disorders and subsequently followed by Colocasia esculenta (70.73%) used for cut, bleeding and wound healing. The results of this study have shown that Rakhine indigenous communities still depend on conventional plant-based medication to remedy various diseases and therapeutic purposes in the study area. Our findings have also shown that despite there have adequate phytodiversity in the natural habitat of the study area but the number of Rakhine population has been declining significantly day-by-day. As an ultimate result, we have lost the plant-based traditional medicinal knowledge of Rakhine indigenous communities in Bangladesh. As a rich source of traditional knowledge and cultural diversity, it calls for urgent initiatives to conserve the cultural heritage of the Rakhine community as well as the diversity of Rakhine ethnic group.

Potential Human Health Risk Assessment of Heavy Metals via Consumption of Root Tubers from Ogoniland, Rivers State, Nigeria.

This study was designed to investigate the concentration of heavy metals and their associated human health risk via consumption of root tubers cultivated in three major communities in Ogoniland, Rivers State, Nigeria. The concentration of heavy metals, especially, Cr and Pb in soil, indicates a moderate contamination (˃ 1.00 mg/kg) level. The concentrations of heavy metals in the root tubers Manihot esculenta, Colocasia esculenta, and Dioscorea alata harvested from Choba, Kpean, and Bodo City ranged from 0.20 ± 0.01-0.84 ± 0.04, 0.01 ± 0.001-0.09 ± 0.02, 0.01 ± 0.002-0.63 ± 0.04, 2.11 ± 0.03-11.8 ± 2.12, and 6.30 ± 1.18-118.6 ± 0.19 mg/kg for Cr, Pb, Ni, Mn, and Fe respectively, while Cd had the same value of 0.01 ± 0.001 mg/kg in the three samples across the three sites. The bio-accumulation factor (BAF) for Cd was ˃ 1. The estimated daily intake were below the FAO/WHO permissible limit, while the target hazard quotient (THQ) has a trend of Mn> Fe> Pb> Cd> Ni> Cr, and were ˂ 1 for all the sampling areas. The HI values for M. esculenta for children in Choba, Kpean, and Bodo City were ˃ 1, indicating that children among the local populace were susceptible to heavy metals health risks. The carcinogenic risk (CR) value of Cr indicates that there was appreciable lifetime cancer risk for Cr as the CR value in all the sampling sites were ˃ 10-4. Furthermore, CR values of Ni and Cd were also within the predicted lifetime risks of carcinogens. Heavy metal contamination of root tubers cultivated in Ogoniland may posed a great health risk to local populace especially for children via consumption of root tubers.

Optimisation of a cheap and residential small-scale production of edible crickets with local by-products as an alternative protein-rich human food source in Ratanakiri Province, Cambodia.

BACKGROUND: The health status of the indigenous people of Ratanakiri Province, Cambodia, is significantly lower compared with that of the rest of the nation. The domestication and mass production of insects may represent a sustainable, cost effective and high quality alternative source of protein to traditional livestock. This study aimed to optimise a cheap and residential cricket breeding system based on unused wild resources. The development of crickets, Teleogryllus testaceus (Walker), under seven diets composed of taro aerial parts, young cassava leaves, young cashew leaves and brown rice flour (with or without banana slices), versus a traditionally used broiler feed diet was studied. RESULTS: Cricket mortality was low in all diets, except the two cashew-based diets. Total biomass was significantly higher under the broiler feed, in addition to the two diets containing a combination of cassava leaf powder and brown rice. Yet, crickets fed with the taro diet had the highest percentage of protein. Concerning the breeding system cost, units using cassava leaves were the cheapest. CONCLUSION: Diets based on cassava leaves seem to be the most promising. Nevertheless, to produce crickets with a high body mass and a high protein level, a new experiments must be devised in which cassava leaf maturity will be adapted to fit with the cricket growth stage. Moreover, to reduce the cost of the breeding units, handmade local products should be used instead of purchased components.

Photosynthetic costs and benefits of abaxial versus adaxial anthocyanins in Colocasia esculenta 'Mojito'.

MAIN CONCLUSION: Anthocyanins in upper (adaxial) leaf tissues provide greater photoprotection than in lower (abaxial) tissues, but also predispose tissues to increased shade acclimation and, consequently, reduced photosynthetic capacity. Abaxial anthocyanins may be a compromise between these costs/benefits. Plants adapted to shaded understory environments often exhibit red/purple anthocyanin pigmentation in lower (abaxial) leaf surfaces, but rarely in upper (adaxial) surfaces. The functional significance of this color pattern in leaves is poorly understood. Here, we test the hypothesis that abaxial anthocyanins protect leaves of understory plants from photo-oxidative stress via light attenuation during periodic exposure to high incident sunlight in the forest understory, without interfering with sunlight capture and photosynthesis during shade conditions. We utilize a cultivar of Colocasia esculenta exhibiting adaxial and abaxial anthocyanin variegation within individual leaves to compare tissues with the following color patterns: green adaxial, green abaxial (GG), green adaxial, red abaxial (GR), red adaxial, green abaxial (RG), and red adaxial, red abaxial (RR). Consistent with a photoprotective function of anthocyanins, tissues exhibited symptoms of increasing photoinhibition in the order (from least to greatest): RR, RG, GR, GG. Anthocyanic tissues also showed symptoms of shade acclimation (higher total chl, lower chl a/b) in the same relative order. Inconsistent with our hypothesis, we did not observe any differences in photosynthetic CO2 uptake under shade conditions between the tissue types. However, GG and GR had significantly (39 %) higher photosynthesis at saturating irradiance (A sat) than RG and RR. Because tissue types did not differ in nitrogen content, these patterns likely reflect differences in resource allocation at the tissue level, with greater nitrogen allocated toward energy processing in GG and GR, and energy capture in RG and RR (consistent with relative sun/shade acclimation). We conclude that abaxial anthocyanins are likely advantageous in understory environments because they provide some photoprotection during high-light exposure, but without the cost of decreased A sat associated with adaxial anthocyanin-induced shade syndrome.

Cost-Benefit Analysis of Managing the Papuana uninodis (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) Taro Beetle in Fiji.

Taro (Colocasia esculenta (L.) Schott) plays a prominent role in the economies and cultures of Pacific Island countries such as Fiji. Unfortunately, taro is highly susceptible to invasion from taro beetles, which burrow into the corms and weaken the plants, rendering them unmarkable and prone to rot. Papuana uninodis Prell, an invasive alien species that is native to the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu, was first reported on Viti Levu (Fiji's largest island) in 1984. Since that time, taro production on Viti Levu has fallen substantially. In this paper, we employ data from surveys of households and communities to document the impacts of P. uninodis on Viti Levu. We then identify three management approaches-chemical controls, cultural controls, and switching from taro to another staple crop-and conduct a cost-benefit analysis of each. We find strong arguments for pursuing chemical control, which derives a net present value of monetised benefits of about FJ$139,500 per hectare over 50 yr, or >FJ$21 for each FJ$1 spent. Still, any of the three management options is more efficient than no management, even without any attempt to quantify the benefits to biodiversity or forest protection, underscoring the value of actively managing this invasive alien species.

Growth indices and cost implications of hybro broiler chicks fed with graded levels of fermented wild cocoyam Colocasia esculenta (L.) Schott corm meal as a replacement for maize.

Corms such as wild cocoyam [Colocasia esculenta] have potential to replace maize as a cheaper energy source in poultry rations. A feeding trial was conducted to evaluate the effects of graded levels of fermented wild cocoyam [Colocasia esculenta (L.) Schott] corm (FWCC), as substitutes for maize in the diets of broilers at the starter phase. One hundred and twenty unsexed day-old Hybro broiler chicks were randomly distributed to four dietary treatments in a Completely Randomized Design (CRD). There were 3 replicates per dietary treatment with 10 birds per replicate. Diet 1 without FWCC served as the control. Diets 2, 3 and 4 contained 10, 20 and 30% FWCC. Each of the diets represented a treatment. The experimental diets and clean drinking water were supplied ad libitum for 4 weeks (28 days) representing the starter phase of the broiler production. Result of the performance revealed significant (p<0.05) differences in feed intake, weight gain and feed conversion ratio. The economic analysis also showed that cost (Naira58.52) of a kilogram feed was highest (p<0.05) for the control and least (Naira53.10) for 30% FWCC. The least cost (Naira101.24) of feed per kilogram weight gain (p<0.05) was obtained for birds fed 30% FWCC compared to (Naira105.53) for the control. It was concluded that maize can economically be substituted with 30% FWCC in broiler starter diets.

Agro-economic yield of taro clones in Brazil, propagated with different types of cuttings, in three crop seasons.

The experimental studies were conducted in 2007-2008, 2008-2009 and 2009-2010 crop seasons, in order to know the agro-economic yield of 'Chinês' and "Macaquinho" taro clones, propagated using huge, extra, large, medium, small and tiny cormels. The harvest was done on average on 202 days after planting, in three crop seasons. Based on the joint analysis of variance carried out, it was observed that taro clones showed significant differences in the yield of fresh and dry weight of leaves, cormels, and commercial and non-commercial comels; besides, there were significant differences in yield of a crop season to another and the size of the cuttings induced significant differences in yield. In the conditions that the experiments were conducted, and considering the highest average yield of fresh weight of commercial cormels (28.69 t.ha-1) and highest net income (US $14,741.14) correspondent to the three crop seasons, it is recommended to cultivate 'Macaquinho' clone using small cuttings in propagation.

Determination of acrylamide in Thai-conventional snacks from Nong Mon market, Chonburi using GC-MS technique.

Acrylamide in Thai-conventional snacks was analysed by GC/MS with a linear response ranged of 5-50 µg and r² > 0.99. The limit of detection (s/n = 3) and limit of quantification (s/n = 10) were 4 and 15 µg kg⁻¹, respectively, and RSD < 2%. Acrylamide in 19 food samples ranged from <15 µg kg⁻¹ to 1.26 mg kg⁻¹ with highest concentrations in Kanom Jak. Moderate levels (150-500 µg kg⁻¹) were detected mostly in deep-fried products, especially sweet potato and taro crisps, Kanom Kai Hong, banana fritters, durian chips and spring rolls. Thai-conventional snacks possessed low concentrations (<150 µg kg⁻¹) including Khao Larm, Pa Tong Koo, sweet banana crisps and deep-fried Chinese wonton. Acrylamide was lowest (<15 µg kg⁻¹) in fish strips, rice crackers, Hoi Jor and fried fish balls. Dietary habits by 400 tourists indicate a daily intake of acrylamide <150 ng, well below a toxic dose.