Bibliography of the Genetic Resources of Traditional African Vegetables
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Neglected leafy green vegetable crops in Africa Vol. 2 Bibliographyof traditional ofAfrican the genetic vegetables resources N.M. Mnzava, J.A. Dearing, L. Guarino, J.A. Chweya (compilers) and H. de Koeijer (editor) Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs Development Cooperation Bibliographyof traditional ofAfrican the genetic vegetables resources N.M. Mnzava, J.A. Dearing, L. Guarino, J.A. Chweya (compilers) and H. de Koeijer (editor) The International Plant Genetic Resources Institute (IPGRI) is an autonomous international scientific orga- nization, supported by the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR). IPGRI’s mandate is to advance the conservation and use of genetic diversity for the well-being of present and future generations. IPGRI’s headquarters is based in Rome, Italy, with offices in another 14 countries worldwide. It operates through three programmes: (1) the Plant Genetic Resources Programme, (2) the CGIAR Genetic Resources Support Programme, and (3) the International Network for the Improvement of Banana and Plantain (INIBAP). CAB International (CABI) is an international, intergovernmental, not-for-profit organization. Its mission is to help improve human welfare worldwide through the dissemination, application and generation of scientific knowledge in support of sustainable development, with emphasis on agriculture, forestry, human health and the management of natural resources, and with particular attention to the needs of developing countries. The international status of IPGRI is conferred under an Establishment Agreement which, by January 1998, had been signed and ratified by the Governments of Algeria, Australia, Belgium, Benin, Bolivia, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chile, China, Congo, Costa Rica, Côte d’Ivoire, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Ecuador, Egypt, Greece, Guinea, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Iran, Israel, Italy, Jordan, Kenya, Malaysia, Mauritania, Morocco, Nor- way, Pakistan, Panama, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Senegal, Slovakia, Sudan, Switzerland, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey, Uganda and Ukraine. Financial support for the Research Agenda of IPGRI is provided by the Governments of Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, F.R. Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro), Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Republic of Korea, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Mexico, Monaco, the Netherlands, Norway, Peru, the Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, the UK, the USA and by the Asian Development Bank, Common Fund for Commodities, Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA), European Union, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), International Development Research Centre (IDRC), International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), Inter- national Association for the promotion of cooperation with scientists from the New Independent States of the former Soviet Union (INTAS), Interamerican Development Bank, Natural Resources Institute (NRI), Centre de coopération internationale en recherche agronomique pour le développement (CIRAD), Nordic Genebank, Rockefeller Foun- dation, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), TBRI and the World Bank. Citation: Mnzava, N.M., J.A. Dearing, L. Guarino and J.A. Chweya (compilers) and H. de Koeijer (editor). 1999. Bibliography of the genetic resources of traditional African vegetables. Neglected leafy green vegetable crops in Africa Vol. 2. International Plant Genetic Resources Institute, Rome, Italy. ISBN 92-9043-531-3 IPGRI Office for Sub-Saharan Africa c/o ICRAF PO Box 30677 Nairobi, Kenya © International Plant Genetic Resources Institute, 1999 Contents A: Amaranth and Celosia (Amaranthus spp. and Celosia argentea L.) ...........................1 B: Jute/Jews Mallow (Corchorus olitorius L.) ..................................................................11 C: Black Nightshades (Solanum nigrum complex) .........................................................14 E: Sorrel (Hibiscus sabdariffa L.) ......................................................................................24 D: Cat’s Whiskers/Cleome gynandra; Gynandropsis gynandra L. (Briq) .................... 27 F: African eggplant (Solanum aethiopicum L.) and related species (Solanum spp.)...28 G: Okra (Abelmoschus esculentum (L.) Moench) ...........................................................33 H: Ethiopian Mustard (Brassica carinata A. Br.) ..............................................................36 I: Cassava and Sweet Potato (Manihot esculentum Crantz, Ipomoea batata L.) ...... 37 J: Other African vegetables ..............................................................................................40 K: Nutrition ..........................................................................................................................80 L: Ethnobotany ...................................................................................................................88 M: General ...........................................................................................................................91 Preface In Africa, traditional vegetables are an important source of nutrients and vitamins for the rural population, as many nutritional studies have shown. Farmers have cultivated and collected these vegetables for genera- tions as an additional food source. Natural selection and farmer-based breeding practices have developed the genetic base of the most important vegetables. In recent decades there has been formal research by national agricultural research programmes and international research organizations on cultivation methods of the vegetables to improve their yield. However research on the genetic base of these vegetables for breeding purposes has been scattered and the results of studies have not always been published in scientific journals. Information on the results of research and availability of this information for researchers has been a major obstacle for stimulating further research on traditional vegetables. In 1995 the “International workshop on genetic resources of traditional vegetables in Africa” took place in Nairobi, Kenya as a follow-up to an earlier meeting on “Safeguarding the genetic basis of Africa’s traditional crops”. In the final plenary IPGRI pledged to develop and distribute a bibliography on African traditional vegetables. This bibliography focuses on bibliographic references that give results of research undertaken with the intention of understanding the genetic base of traditional vegetables. Researchers collaborating with the editors decided on the major species and subjects to be included in this publication. References were ob- tained not only from the international agricultural databases CAB Abstracts, AGRIS and AGRICOLA but also from grey litreature collected by the compilers. As many traditional vegetables from Africa can be found in other continents, relevant studies on the same species are also included in this bibliography. This bibliography does not claim to be definitive or even exhaustive. We are aware of the fact that results of research undertaken by African researchers and students is still to be published or can not be found in the international bibliographic databases. Therefore we welcome information on papers, reports and thesis writ- ten on Africa’s traditional vegetables that are not included in this bibliography. This information will stimulate and help us to produce a second volume of this bibliography. We hope that this work will help to further the research on the genetic base of Africa’s traditional vegetables and stimulate their use. The editor and compilers Acknowledgement IPGRI expresses its thanks to CAB International for permission to include abstracts from the CAB Ab- stracts database. Abstracts marked as CABI copyright cannot be further copied without the permission of CABI. The financial support of the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs Development Cooperation is also acknowledged. Amaranth and Celosia 1 A: Amaranth and Celosia (Amaranthus spp and Celosia argentea L.) 1. Abbott, J. A. and T. A. Campbell. 1982. Sensory evaluation of vegetable amaranth (Amaranthus spp.). HortScience 17(3): 409-10. Appearance, flavour, texture and overall eating quality of 20 steamed amaranth entries (three A. cruentus, one A. dubius and 16 A. tricolor) and spinach were rated by consumer sensory panels. Several entries of A. tricolor had nonsignificantly lower scores than spinach. Of the A. tricolor entries, Chin was the best overall and Tampala was intermediate. Of all the entries, A. dubius was intermediate and A. cruentus was least acceptable. Keywords: Food preparation, Cooking-quality. 2. Adebanjo, A. 1994. Environmental influence on the incidence of shoot diseases and health of Amaranthus seeds in humid tropics: Nigeria. Ambio 23(3): 206-9. The influence of the environment on the incidence of dieback, stem and leaf blights in Amaranthus cruentus cv. NHA c33, NHA c30 and NHA c100 was investigated in Nigeria, for 6 seasons during 1987- 1988. The lowest incidences (0%) of dieback and stem blight (8%) were recorded during the first season for NHA c33 and NHA c30, whereas NHA c100 gave 4% leaf blight in the third season (Dec.-Feb.). The lowest mean percentage of leaf blight was recorded for all cultivars by the third