Higher yield and economic benefits are achieved in the macadamia crop by irrigation and intercropping with coffee

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Greenhouse gas balance associated with sugarcane production in South-Central Brazil, considering the management and expansion

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Enrichment of Pleurotus ostreatus mushrooms with selenium in coffee husks

Pleurotus ostreatus fungus forms an edible mushroom that possesses important nutritional and medicinal properties. Selenium (Se) is essential to human diets and it is in low concentration in the soil, and consequently in food. P. ostreatus was grown in coffee husks enriched with various concentrations of sodium selenite. The biological efficiency of P. ostreatus was affected by the addition of high concentrations of Se. The highest level of Se absorption was obtained by adding 51 mg kg(1) of sodium selenite. The mushrooms from first flush contained more Se than the further flushes. These results demonstrate the great potential of coffee husks in the production of Se-enriched mushrooms and show the ability of this fungus to absorb and biomagnify Se. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Coffee consumption attenuates short-term fructose-induced liver insulin resistance in healthy men.

BACKGROUND Epidemiologic and experimental data have suggested that chlorogenic acid, which is a polyphenol contained in green coffee beans, prevents diet-induced hepatic steatosis and insulin resistance. OBJECTIVE We assessed whether the consumption of chlorogenic acid-rich coffee attenuates the effects of short-term fructose overfeeding, dietary conditions known to increase intrahepatocellular lipids (IHCLs), and blood triglyceride concentrations and to decrease hepatic insulin sensitivity in healthy humans. DESIGN Effects of 3 different coffees were assessed in 10 healthy volunteers in a randomized, controlled, crossover trial. IHCLs, hepatic glucose production (HGP) (by 6,6-d2 glucose dilution), and fasting lipid oxidation were measured after 14 d of consumption of caffeinated coffee high in chlorogenic acid (C-HCA), decaffeinated coffee high in chlorogenic acid, or decaffeinated coffee with regular amounts of chlorogenic acid (D-RCA); during the last 6 d of the study, the weight-maintenance diet of subjects was supplemented with 4 g fructose · kg(-1) · d(-1) (total energy intake ± SD: 143 ± 1% of weight-maintenance requirements). All participants were also studied without coffee supplementation, either with 4 g fructose · kg(-1) · d(-1) (high fructose only) or without high fructose (control). RESULTS Compared with the control diet, the high-fructose diet significantly increased IHCLs by 102 ± 36% and HGP by 16 ± 3% and decreased fasting lipid oxidation by 100 ± 29% (all P < 0.05). All 3 coffees significantly decreased HGP. Fasting lipid oxidation increased with C-HCA and D-RCA (P < 0.05). None of the 3 coffees significantly altered IHCLs. CONCLUSIONS Coffee consumption attenuates hepatic insulin resistance but not the increase of IHCLs induced by fructose overfeeding. This effect does not appear to be mediated by differences in the caffeine or chlorogenic acid content. This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT00827450.

Adaptation to Changes in the Coffee Value Chain and the Price of Coiffee among Coffee Producers in Two Villages in Kilimanjaro, Tanzania

Market liberalization in Tanzania has eroded the monopoly of the cooperative unions by allowing private coffee buyers (PCBs) to compete with them on equal footing. Similarly, farmers groups and primary societies are now allowed to sell coffee at auction. Thus, farmers have various options for selling their coffee. Similarly, the coffee industry has experienced large fluctuations in prices and stagnation in production. How do farmers react to these changes? Can and do farmers profit from different market conditions and sell to different traders at the lower end of the value chain, or do they remain with cooperatives or farmers groups? This study was conducted in Mruwia and Mshiri villages in Moshi Rural district. Whereas Mshiri village remains attached to the Kilimanjaro Native Cooperative Union (KNCU), Mruwia has detached from this organization and sells coffee independently. The sample (103) was randomly selected from the coffee farmers in the two villages. Data were collected through surveys, focus group discussions (FGDs), and socio-anthropological methods (participant-observation, biographies, and thematic interviews). Results indicate that the selection of whom to sell coffee depends largely on farmers’ dependence on coffee and prices, other benefits accrued, and whether the initial costs are covered by buyers. Additionally, most respondents did not sell coffee to PCBs. Thus, prices, the institutional infrastructure, and the structure of local communities were important when making decisions about how and with whom to trade.

Land acquisition, investment, and development in the Lao coffee sector: Successes and failures

Despite the increasing acknowledgment of scholars and practitioners that many large-scale agricultural land acquisitions in developing countries fail or never materialize, empirical evidence about how and why they fail to date is still scarce. Too often, land deals are portrayed as straightforward investments and their success is taken for granted. Looking at the coffee sector in Laos, the authors of this article explore dimensions of the land grab debate that have not yet been sufficiently examined. Coffee concessionaires in southern Laos often fail to use all of the land granted them and fail to produce high yields on the land they do use. Thus, the authors challenge the often-assumed superiority and effectiveness of large-scale versus small-scale production, specifically the argument that they modernize agricultural production and optimize land use. They argue that examining failed investments is as important as studying successful ones for understanding the implications of the land grabbing phenomenon for social, economic, and environmental outcomes. Knowledge about the scale of “failed land deals” provides important motivation for national governments to close the gap between intentions and actual outcomes. This article engages with the current debate on quality of investment and challenges the approach of employing land concessions as a vehicle for economic development in the Lao coffee sector and in other sectors and countries.

Structural Changes in Asparagus Production and Exports from Peru

Asparagus is the star product among non-traditional agricultural exports (NTAXs) in Peru. The export of preserved asparagus has expanded since the end of the 1980s. Although there was some stagnation in the mid-1990s, exports of fresh asparagus have expanded rapidly since the end of the 1990s. Now, the export of both preserved and fresh asparagus constitute the second most important agricultural export in Peru after coffee. Besides the change in demand on the international market, the important factor behind the shift from preserved to fresh asparagus is the change in the supply structure of asparagus. In the case of preserved asparagus, Peruvian exports expanded because of Peru’s competitiveness, which originated from favorable production factors, such as climate, soil and labor. However, because of the growing presence of Chinese products on the international market, Peru’s products lost their competitiveness. In the case of fresh asparagus, the investment of agricultural corporations in production and their innovation in integrating different economic processes from the point of production to the time of export built a successful supply structure that is suited for the export of fresh agricultural produce.

Diversification economies and specialisation efficiencies in a mixed food and coffee smallholder farming system in Papua New Guinea

Smallholder farming systems in Papua New Guinea are characterised by an integrated set of cash cropping and subsistence food cropping activities. In the Highlands provinces, the subsistence food crop sub-system is dominated by sweet potato production. Coffee dominates the cash cropping sub-system, but a limited number of food crops are also grown for cash sale. The dynamics between sub-systems can influence the scope for complementarity between, and technical efficiency of, their operations, especially in light of the seasonality of demand for household labour and management inputs within the farming system. A crucial element of these dynamic processes is diversification into commercial agricultural production, which can influence factor productivity and the efficiency of crop production where smallholders maintain a strong production base in subsistence foods. In this study we use survey data from households engaged in coffee and food crop production in the Benabena district of Eastern Highlands Province to derive technical efficiency indices for each household over two years. A stochastic input distance function approach is used to establish whether diversification economies exist and whether specialisation in coffee, subsistence food or cash food production significantly influences technical efficiency on the sampled smallholdings. Diversification economics are weakly evident between subsistence food production and both coffee and cash food production, but diseconomies of diversification are discerned between coffee and cash food production. A number of factors are tested for their effects on technical efficiency. Significant technical efficiency gains are made from diversification among broad cropping enterprises.

A novel process for the production of castor oil by direct solvent extraction

This research was undertaken to: develop a process for the direct solvent extraction of castor oil seeds. A literature survey confirmed the desirability of establishing such a process with emphasis on the decortication, size, reduction, detoxification-deallergenization, and solvent·extraction operations. A novel process was developed for the dehulling of castor seeds which consists of pressurizing the beans and then suddenly releasing the pressure to vaccum. The degree of dehulling varied according to the pressure applied and the size of the beans. Some of the batches were difficult-to-hull, and this phenomenon was investigated using the scanning electron microscope and by thickness and compressive strength measurements. The other variables studied to lesser degrees included residence time, moisture, content, and temperature.The method was successfully extended to cocoa beans, and (with modifications) to peanuts. The possibility of continuous operation was looked into, and a mechanism was suggested to explain the method works. The work on toxins and allergens included an extensive literature survey on the properties of these substances and the methods developed for their deactivation Part of the work involved setting up an assay method for measuring their concentration in the beans and cake, but technical difficulties prevented the completion of this aspect of the project. An appraisal of the existing deactivation methods was made in the course of searching for new ones. A new method of reducing the size of oilseeds was introduced in this research; it involved freezing the beans in cardice and milling them in a coffee grinder, the method was found to be a quick, efficient, and reliable. An application of the freezing technique was successful in dehulling soybeans and de-skinning peanut kernels. The literature on the solvent extraction, of oilseeds, especially castor, was reviewed: The survey covered processes, equipment, solvents, and mechanism of leaching. three solvents were experimentally investigated: cyclohexane, ethanol, and acetone. Extraction with liquid ammonia and liquid butane was not effective under the conditions studied. Based on the results of the research a process has been suggested for the direct solvent extraction of castor seeds, the various sections of the process have analysed, and the factors affecting the economics of the process were discussed.

A Market Study of Organic and Fair Trade Coffee in Bolivia

The purpose of this research is to study the commercialization of Fairtrade and Organic coffee in the Bolivia. Fairtrade and Organic coffee are alternative trade systems designed to promote the equitable and environmentally sustainable production of coffee. However, these alternative trading systems often fail to meet these goals. The producers and environment these systems are intended to protect remain marginalized. These failures are due to a number of local institutions. In order to better understand these institutions, this research conducted interviews of various stakeholders including producers, cooperative leaders, organic/Fair Trade certifiers, government agencies and private buyers. All these stakeholders influence the success of the alternative trade systems. By better understanding how these stakeholders impact the commercialization of coffee in Bolivia; new policies can be develop to improve the outcomes of alternative trade, to benefit both producers and the environment. This is especially critical in Bolivia because of the environmentally sensitive area in which coffee is grown, the potentially damaging impact of coca on the region and, the devastating economic impact to farmers.

Spiroacetals in the Colonization Behaviour of the Coffee Berry Borer: A 'Push-Pull' System

Coffee berries are known to release several volatile organic compounds, among which is the spiroacetal, conophthorin, an attractant for the coffee berry borer Hypothenemus hampei. Elucidating the effects of other spiroacetals released by coffee berries is critical to understanding their chemo-ecological roles in the host discrimination and colonization process of the coffee berry borer, and also for their potential use in the management of this pest. Here, we show that the coffee berry spiroacetals frontalin and 1,6-dioxaspiro [4.5] decane (referred thereafter as brocain), are also used as semiochemicals by the coffee berry borer for host colonization. Bioassays and chemical analyses showed that crowding coffee berry borers from 2 to 6 females per berry, reduced borer fecundity, which appeared to correlate with a decrease in the emission rates of conophthorin and frontalin over time. In contrast, the level of brocain did not vary significantly between borer-uninfested and infested berries. Brocain was attractive at lower doses, but repellent at higher doses while frontalin alone or in a blend was critical for avoidance. Field assays with a commercial attractant comprising a mixture of ethanol and methanol (1:1), combined with frontalin, confirmed the repellent effect of this compound by disrupting capture rates of H. hampei females by 77% in a coffee plantation. Overall, our results suggest that the levels of frontalin and conophthorin released by coffee berries determine the host colonization behaviour of H. hampei, possibly through a 'push-pull' system, whereby frontalin acts as the 'push' (repellent) and conophthorin acting as the 'pull' (attractant). Furthermore, our results reveal the potential use of frontalin as a repellent for management of this coffee pest.

Coffee Berry Borer Joins Bark Beetles in Coffee Klatch

Unanswered key questions in bark beetle-plant interactions concern host finding in species attacking angiosperms in tropical zones and whether management strategies based on chemical signaling used for their conifer-attacking temperate relatives may also be applied in the tropics. We hypothesized that there should be a common link in chemical signaling mediating host location by these Scolytids. Using laboratory behavioral assays and chemical analysis we demonstrate that the yellow-orange exocarp stage of coffee berries, which attracts the coffee berry borer, releases relatively high amounts of volatiles including conophthorin, chalcogran, frontalin and sulcatone that are typically associated with Scolytinae chemical ecology. The green stage of the berry produces a much less complex bouquet containing small amounts of conophthorin but no other compounds known as bark beetle semiochemicals. In behavioral assays, the coffee berry borer was attracted to the spiroacetals conophthorin and chalcogran, but avoided the monoterpenes verbenone and a-pinene, demonstrating that, as in their conifer-attacking relatives in temperate zones, the use of host and non-host volatiles is also critical in host finding by tropical species. We speculate that microorganisms formed a common basis for the establishment of crucial chemical signals comprising inter-and intraspecific communication systems in both temperate-and tropical-occurring bark beetles attacking gymnosperms and angiosperms.

Effect of commercial starter cultures and native yeasts on ochratoxin a production by aspergillus westerdijkiae and penicillium nordicum in meat products

Processed meat products are of worldwide importance and, because of their intrinsic factors as well as the processing methods, they are highly prone to fungal and mycotoxin contamination. Ochratoxin A (OTA) is the most significant mycotoxin in processed meat products. Penicillium nordicum is considered to be responsible for OTA contamination of meat products, as it is highly adapted to salt and protein-rich matrices and is moderately psycrotrophic. However, another OTA-producing fungus, Aspergillus westerdijkiae, adapted to carbon-rich matrices such as cereals and coffee beans, has been recently associated with high levels of OTA in meat products. Several Lactic Acid Bacteria (LAB) and yeasts have been tested as biocontrol agents against P. nordicum growth and OTA production in meat products, with promising results, but none of the studies have considered A. westerdijkiae. The aim of this work was to evaluate in vitro the effect of a commercial starter culture used in sausage fermentation and four yeasts isolated from dry-cured sausage on these two OTA-producing fungi, both in terms of fungal growth and of OTA production, using different meat-based culture media as model systems. The mechanisms underlying the observed effect were also studied. For this purpose, C. krusei, C. zeylanoides, R. mucilaginosa, R. glutinis, a mix of these yeasts and the starter culture were co-inoculated with P. nordicum and A. westerdijkiae in industrial sausage, traditional sausage, and ham-based media, under conditions of water activity, salt concentration and temperature that mimic real conditions at beginning and end of sausage curing process. Fungal growth was determined by measuring colony diameter, and OTA production was quantified by HPLC-FLD after extraction with methanol. Yeasts where found to inhibit significantly the growth of both fungi. P. nordicum was unable to produce detectable OTA in both sausage-based media under any condition. In ham, yeasts reduced OTA production, while the starter culture significantly increased it. Unexpectedly, OTA production by A. westerdijkiae was significantly stimulated in all media tested by all microorganisms. Matrix has a significant effect on OTA production by P. nordicum, but not by A. westerdijkiae, for which only temperature showed to have effect. By testing the mechanisms of action by which starter culture and C. zeylanoides influenced fungal responses, we were able to determine that direct contact and simultaneous growth of test organisms were the mechanisms more significantly involved in the responses. In conclusion, ochratoxigenic fungi do not all respond to antagonistic microorganisms in the same way. The use of biocontrol agents with the intent of reducing fungal growth and mycotoxin production by one fungus can have unexpected effects on others, thus leading to unforeseen safety problems. Further experiments are recommended to properly understand the reasons behind the different effects of microorganisms, to ensure their safe as biocontrol agents.

Physical soil attributes of Conilon coffee (Coffea canephora) under organic and conventional management systems.

Coffea sp. is cultivated in large areas, using both conventional and organic management. However, information about the sustainability of these two management systems is still deficient. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the physical properties of soil cultivated with Conilon coffee (C. canephora) under organic and conventional management. Two areas cultivated with Conilon coffee (under organic and conventional management) and a fragment of Atlantic forest, used as a reference, were selected for the experiment. Soil granulometry, hydraulic conductivity, water retention curve, resistance to penetration, porosity, optimal hydric interval, and other physical characteristics were measured at depths of 0 to 10 and 10 to 20 cm. The data was submitted to multivariate and descriptive statistical analyses. Higher similarity was observed between the soil cultivated with Conilon coffee under organic management and the Atlantic forest soil. Soil resistance to penetration at 10, 30, 100, 500 and 1500 kPa, macro porosity, density and total porosity were the main physical properties that differentiated both management systems studied. The non-use of agricultural machinery and the addition of organic matter may be the main reasons for higher soil sustainability observed under organic management when compared with the conventional system.