Title Slide PROJECT TITLE: Evaluation of the efficacy of modified atmosphere packages to maintain the harvest quality of spider plant (Cleome gynandra) NAME: PAUL KIMANI N. REG N0. A22/0038/2009. SUPERVISOR: Dr JANE AMBUKO, PhD. MAJOR: CROP SCIENCE.

Introduction/Background Importance of vegetables Indigenous leafy vegetables (ALVs) are preferred because they are rich in nutrients for example C. gynandra L. has a diverse nutritional composition such as vitamins, protein, fibre, carbohydrates, minerals, fatty acids and amino acids In the recent years there has been an upsurge of trade and interest in local indigenous vegetables. A significant proportion (34%) of the people living in urban and peri urban Nairobi consumes indigenous leafy vegetables The easy perishability of ALVs in terms of very short shelf life due to loss of green colour resulting to yellowing, wilting and rotting poses major challenges with their distribution and marketing.

There is need for appropriate measures to maintain harvest quality and prolong the marketing period of ALVs to facilitate their movement from production areas (mostly in rural and peri-urban areas) to urban markets where their demand is on the rise Modified Atmosphere Packaging (MAP) is a simple and versatile technology that can be used to preserve freshness in perishables commodities including fruits and vegetables The mode of action in MAP is based on altered gas composition in the package – reduced oxygen and increased carbon dioxide The beneficial effects of MAP depend on packaging materials that ensure a balance between commodity attributes and package characteristics When these two are matched, an equilibrium MA created in the package is beneficial to the packaged commodity A mis-match between the package and commodity creates an unfavorable environment that negates the benefits of MAP

Problem Statement and Justification Postharvest losses in vegetables especially indigenous leafy vegetables has been a major challenge among the growers and this has limited the market of the commodity to where the demand is high especially in urban centres. The traditional methods have been relying on direct sun drying that is faced with problems of hygiene, nutrient degradation and losses such as vitamin C., aesthetic value etc. MAP offers an alternative method for quality preservation Activebag® is a new MAP product variably designed for various commodity ranges. Unlike ordinary polythene, it has good permeability characteristics that preclude the development of anaerobic conditions in the package. It is also lined with ethylene absorbers and antimicrobials which further enhance the efficacy compared to the ordinary polythene bags used in grocery stores. However its use in ALVs has not been tested

Objectives GENERAL: To evaluate alternative methods for preservation of postharvest quality of spider plant SPECIFIC: To determine the efficacy of Modified atmosphere packaging using various Activebag® packages to maintain the postharvest quality of spider plant.

Materials and method The experiment will be conducted in botany laboratory, department of plant science and crop protection, faculty of agriculture, University of Nairobi. Fresh spider plant leaves will be obtained from a nearby farm around Kabete area, where they will have being planted and harvested at the right stage. Sorting out will be done to remove impurities such as soil particles which might be sources of pathogens and other impurities that might lead to contamination. The sorted and dry leaves will then be packaged in various Activebag® packages with different permeability characteristics namely (WH bag, BH bag and RH bag). These will be compared with regular/ordinary polythene usually used in grocery stores and unpackaged vegetables as controls The experimental design to be used is a Completely Randomized Design (CRD) with 3 replications Data collected will be subjected to analysis of variance using Genstat and differences in the means separated using LSD 0.05

Method Flow Diagram FRESH SPIDER PLANT LEAVES SORTING PACKAGING CONTROL 2 NORMAL PACKAGE BAG CONTROL 1 UNPACKAGED (UNDER AIR ) BH Bag OBSERVATON AND DATA COLLECTION DATA ANALYSIS RH BagWH Bag

Parameters to be measured Cumulative weight loss - digital weighing balance Color index Produce Quality Rating Scales and color Charts(2005) Wilting index Produce Quality Rating Scales and color Charts(2005) Rotting index Visual observation of percentage rot. General appearance Produce Quality Rating Scales and color Charts(2005).

References Oniang’o R, Grum, M. and Obel-Lawson, E. African journal, volume 7, N0.s 3& Developing African leafy vegetables for improved nutrition. Regional workshop, 6-9 December Rural outreach program, Nairobi, Kenya K.M Shiungu & R.K. Oniang’o AFJAND 7, Nazir M. and Randolph M. Beaudry Modified Atmosphere Packaging. Michigan State University East Lansing, Michigan.

PERIODDec 2012JAN 2013 FEB 2013 MARCH 2013 APRIL 2013 ACTIVITY Proposal writing Land preparation and Planting Data collection and data analysis Proposal presentation Report writing Final Report presentation WORK PLAN

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