Introduction. Small-scale bananaproducers in Tanzania are facing constraints caused by the destructiveactivities of the banana weevil (Cosmopolites sordidus Germar).Many currently used methods of addressing the problem are ineffective ortoo expensive for local farmers to implement. Materials and methods.A combination of two integrated pest management (IPM) tools (regulartrapping in combination with field sanitation) was tested at twofarmer-managed sites (Bujela and Kyimo) and one researcher-managedsite (SUA-Morogoro). Treated areas were surrounded by untreatedcontrol areas where no trapping and limited sanitation was done.Changes in population densities were estimated by the mark-recaptureprocedure and the Lincoln index. Results and discussion. Aftereight months, weevil populations in the cleaned and trapped areashad been reduced by 33% (Bujela), 33% (Kyimo) and 74% (SUA). Thechange in population sizes in the control areas differed greatly,possibly due to discrepancies in field management between farmers’ andresearchers’ practice. Trap types, areas and sites affected thenumber of weevils captured. Disc-on-stump (DOS) traps captured moreweevils than corm disc (CD) and pseudostem (PS) traps. Weevils respondedmore strongly to traps in the clean area at SUA compared with theother two sites, probably because the more rigid sanitation practicesat SUA meant that volatiles from the traps were less likely to bemasked by volatiles from surrounding residues. Conclusion.Regular trapping with field sanitation can greatly reduce populationsof banana weevils, but strict adherence to method execution is requiredin order to gain favourable results.

Introduction. The fruits ofthe Brazilian Savannah have potential to improve the human diet,income generation and, consequently, the quality of life for sociallyvulnerable families. Among the native fruits of the Savannah, onethat stands out is the ‘jatobá do cerrado’ (Hymenaea stigonocarpa).Therefore, the physical characteristics, chemical composition (titratableacidity, soluble solids, pH, moisture, ash, proteins, lipids andtotal dietary fiber), occurrence and content of vitamin C (ascorbicand dehydroascorbic acids), carotenoids (α-carotene, β-carotene, β-cryptoxanthinand lycopene), vitamin E (α, β, γ and δ-tocopherols and tocotrienols)and folates (tetrahydrofolate, 5-methyltetrahydrofolate and 5-formyltetrahydrofolate)were evaluated in pulp of ‘jatobá do cerrado’ from the BrazilianSavannah. Materials and methods. The length, diameter,mass and fruit yield were evaluated. The titratable acidity wasdetermined by volumetric neutralization; pH by potentiometry; solublesolids by refractometry; moisture using an oven; ash using a muffle furnace;proteins by the micro-Kjeldhal method; total dietary fiber by thegravimetric non-enzymatic method; and lipids with a Soxhlet extractor.Vitamin C and carotenoids were analyzed by HPLC-DAD, and vitamin Eand folates by HPLC with fluorescence detection. Results anddiscussion. The jatobá do cerrado’ presented low pulp yield (17.1%)and moisture (8.8 g×100 g–1), and high contents of total dietaryfiber (44.3 g×100 g–1), protein (5.6 mg×100 g–1) and energy (193.0 kcal×100 g–1).The fruit presented reduced contents of carotenoids and vitamin C [(0.4and 8.9) mg×100 g–1, respectively]. The contents of vitamin E andfolates [(53.5 and 495.5) μg×100 g–1, respectively] were higherthan in other widely consumed fruits. Conclusion. The‘jatobá do cerrado’ is a source of vitamin C, good source of folates, andexcellent source of dietary fiber. Due to its nutritional value,‘jatobá do cerrado’ is an important dietary alternative; thus, its consumptionshould be encouraged.

Introduction. Shea tree (V.paradoxa C.F. Gaertn.), a species endemic to the Sudaniansavanna woodlands, is dominant in the parklands of West Africa whereit is of great socioeconomic importance. However, shea tree hasbeen reported in recent decades to be threatened by plant parasites,Loranthaceae. Our study aimed to assess possible variation of theimpact of these parasites on shea tree fruit yield in two contrastinghabitats. Materials and methods. We selected 41 weaklyand 41 heavily infected shea tree individuals, of similar size,in a protected area as well as in its adjacent parklands. Shea treetraits such as diameter at breast height, canopy diameter, treeheight, canopy height, number of fruit yielded, number of parasite stumpsper tree and an impact index ratio were assessed on each shea treeindividual. Two-way ANOVA was performed to compare parasite impacton shea tree fruit yield in relation to habitat. Hierarchical cluster, canonicaldiscriminant and one-way ANOVA analyses were used to show quantitativetraits that characterize shea tree groups from habitats. Results.Loranthaceae did not reduce fruit yield significantly either inthe parklands or in the protected area. Quantitative traits tendedto discriminate all pooled shea trees in relation to habitats. Sheatree individuals in parklands were characterized mostly by the highestvalue of number of infected stumps per tree and of the impact index ratio,suggesting that many shea tree individuals in parklands were sensitiveto Loranthaceae impact on their fruit yield. Conclusion.These findings were helpful for implementing some shea tree conservationplans.

Introduction. The BrazilianCerrado presents a wide vegetable diversity, which is used for differentpurposes, especially in human feeding. Among the various fruitsof the Cerrado, the araticum (Annona crassiflora Mart.)stands out, due to its high nutritional value and technologicalpotential. The physical characteristics, chemical composition (titratableacidity, pH, moisture, ash, total dietary fiber, lipids and proteins),occurrence and content of vitamin C (ascorbic and dehydroascorbic acids),carotenoids (α-carotene, β-carotene, β-cryptoxanthin and lycopene),vitamin E (α-, β-, γ- and δ-tocopherols and tocotrienols) and folates(tetrahydrofolate, 5-methyltetrahydrofolate and 5-formyltetrahydrofolate)were evaluated in araticum from the Cerrado of Minas Gerais, Brazil. Materials and methods. Vitamin C and carotenoids wereanalyzed by HPLC-DAD, and vitamin E and folates by HPLC with fluorescencedetection. Results and discussion. Araticum pulp presenteda high energy value (95.12 kcal·100 g–1), as well aselevated contents of dietary fiber (6.80 g·100 g–1), carotenoids (4.98 mg·100 g–1) and vitamin A value (288.79 RAE·100 g–1).The contents of vitamin C, folates and vitamin E were 5.23 mg·100 g–1, 27.36 μg·100 g–1 and 494.04 μg·100 g–1, respectively. Conclusion. Araticum presented high energy value andhigh dietary fiber content. It is a source of vitamin C and folates, andan excellent source of vitamin A.

Introduction. India is thelargest producer of pomegranate in the world, with rich geneticdiversity. The wide range of utility of pomegranate in human health,nutrition and livelihood security has triggered its heavy demandin India and other countries. At present, more than 300 germplasmaccessions from indigenous and exotic sources are available in India,but meagre information on the physico-chemical properties of their fruitsis available. In our study, the physico-chemical properties of varietiesgrown under a semi-arid climate were investigated. Materialsand methods. Our study was carried out at the experimentalfarm of the National Research Centre on Pomegranate, Solapur, India,during the harvests of 2008–2009 and 2009–2010. Twenty pomegranatevarieties were studied with respect to the physico-chemical propertiesof their fruits. Results and discussion. A considerablevariation (coefficient of variation: 3.37% to 101.13%) was observedwith respect to the 16 characters studied. The values ranged from 12.64 °Brixto 15.39 °Brix for TSS; 0.38% to 3.40% for acidity; 16.67 g to 27.82 gfor 100-aril weight; 4.31-38.62 for the maturity index; 59.22% to 77.40%for aril percentage; and 43.30% to 61.00% for juice percentage. Fruitsize, rind weight, total aril weight, 100-aril weight, juice weight andaril width were found to have a strong positive correlation (P < 0.01) withfruit weight. Based on the total index score obtained, the varieties ‘BasseinSeedless’, ‘Dholka’, ‘Ganesh’, ‘Jyoti’, ‘Kandhari’, ‘KRS’, ‘Mridula’and ‘P-13’ were found to be suitable for processing and table purposes.

Introduction. Plant water stressindicators have become valuable for moving towards deficit irrigationstrategies and saving water. In this case evapotranspiration (ET)is below its maximum value for the crop and stage (ETc),and a stress coefficient (Ks) is applied to obtainactual ET (ETa). Predawn leaf waterpotential (Yp) can be related to relative transpiration(RT), the ratio between transpiration of a stressedplot (T) and transpiration of a well-irrigatedplot (Tm). Estimating RT fromYp allows calculating ETa fordetermination of irrigation amounts, if deficit irrigation practicesare used, as RT corresponds approximately to Ks. Materials and methods. RT and Yp were measuredwith the aim of establishing a relationship to estimate RT undermoderate water stress for irrigation scheduling, in a peach orchardin south Portugal. RT was calculated using sap flowmeasurements (heat balance method) in two plots, one well-irrigated(daily drip irrigation amounts calculated for Tm) andanother temporarily without irrigation. Results and discussion. Ahigh correlation was found between RT and Yp,allowing the estimation of RT for the studied conditions.Significant differences regarding the relationship RT-Yp obtained for another peach orchard in the sameregion and similar soil conditions were found for Yp inthe range between –0.11 and –0.45 MPa. The results suggest that thedifferences resulted from the different irrigation systems: dripand micro-sprinkling, as they determine different temporal and spatialwater distribution and therefore different geometry of root systems.A formerly proposed equation to estimate RT fromYp with a general form for different fruit treespecies was tested, proving to be adequate within some limits: when RT is lowered to 0.7, the error was below 9%. Thethreshold value RT = 0.7 was considered a minimumas it was successfully tested in deficit irrigation practices for peachorchards.

Introduction. Bacterial canker,caused by P. syringae pv. syringae,is an important disease of stone fruit worldwide. The possibilityof P. syringae pv. syringae infectionthrough leaf scars and lenticels was evaluated in cherry, peachand prune. Materials and methods. Laboratory and fieldinoculations were performed using cherry, peach and prune stemsto evaluate leaf scar age, chilling and freezing-thawing on bacterialinfection through leaf scars and lenticels. Results and discussion. Increasingleaf scar age was associated with significant decreases in diseaseincidence and length of lesions resulting from leaf scar inoculationwith Pseudomonas syringae pv. syringae incherry, peach and prune. A significant reduction in incidence andlesion length was observed after 4 h of air exposure, and both measuresof infection were reduced to essentially 0 by 2 days of exposure. Prolongedchilling temperature (2.2 °C) prior to leaf removal had no cleareffect on disease incidence of leaf scar infection, but significantlydecreased lesion length due to leaf scar infection. Cherry was more susceptibleto P. syringae pv. syringae infectionthrough leaf scars than peach and ‘French’ prune. The leaf scar inoculationresults were consistent with the previous studies. The disease incidenceof lenticel infection caused by bacterial inoculation in ‘French’prune was very low, but significantly higher than the water control.Freezing-thawing significantly increased both the disease incidence andthe lesion size via lenticel infection. The lenticel inoculationdata suggest that P. syringae pv. syringae infection throughlenticels is possible under field conditions.