{"id":41736,"date":"2023-02-22T23:56:03","date_gmt":"2023-02-23T00:56:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peymantaeidi.net\/stem-cell\/?p=41736"},"modified":"2023-02-23T01:37:54","modified_gmt":"2023-02-23T01:37:54","slug":"banana-paper-shell-boosts-yam-size-and-yield","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/peymantaeidi.net\/stem-cell\/2023\/02\/22\/banana-paper-shell-boosts-yam-size-and-yield\/","title":{"rendered":"Banana paper shell boosts yam size and yield"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Wrapping yam seeds in biodegradable paper made from a mixture of unusable parts of banana plants and recycled cardboard boxes sharply increases yam size and yields, researchers say.<\/p>\n

As reported in Nature Food<\/a><\/em>, field tests conducted in Benin, Africa, show the paper made from banana fibers and cardboard helped yam seeds planted inside the paper\u2014with and without minuscule amounts of a pest-killing chemical called abamectin\u2014grow larger and more abundantly than yams planted using traditional methods without the paper.<\/p>\n

Besides larger yields and healthier yams, the four-year study showed significant reductions in yam nematode pest (S. bradys<\/em>) effects in tuber peels after three- and five-month storage periods, indicating the effectiveness of the \u201cwrap-and-plant\u201d method in reducing post-harvest loss.<\/p>\n

Yam nematodes cause dry rot in yams and can make tubers more susceptible to bacterial and fungal infections<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe started this paper-making method in the lab, figured out how the paper works, took it to the field, and saw that it works in terms of not only helping yam production but also improving the quality of yams in storage,\u201d says co-corresponding author Saad Khan, professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering at North Carolina State University.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe paper can be made at large scale in a commercial mill, so that\u2019s not an issue. It is very scalable and has usage beyond what is presented here.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are seeing cleaner, longer tubers with less cracking and less damage. In turn growers get a healthier product which is much more valuable to sell at market,\u201d says Charles Opperman, a professor of entomology and plant pathology and the paper\u2019s co-corresponding author. \u201cMaintenance of tuber quality during storage is critical as a lot of growers store yams over the winter. So quality and weight loss are really important factors.\u201d<\/p>\n

The researchers say that the yam nematode and fellow nematode pathogens<\/a> can cause the loss of 17 to 50% of global yam crops annually. Fewer farmers are more aware of these dangers than those in Benin, which lies in Africa\u2019s \u201cyam belt\u201d that produces about 92% of yams globally.<\/p>\n

Researchers made the paper from the aqueous slurry of banana harvest wastes mixed with old corrugated cardboard, says Tahira Pirzada, the study\u2019s co-first author and postdoctoral research scholar in NC State\u2019s chemical and biomolecular engineering department.<\/p>\n

The ratio most effective in forming a pliant and porous wrap was four parts of banana waste<\/a> to one part cardboard.<\/p>\n

When the water is removed from the slurry, sheets of flexible banana paper are formed. A paper cutter is used to trim the paper into small pieces that can wrap around yam seeds; those packages are then planted.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese are the positive aspects of the production process: it uses just water\u2014no chemicals\u2014and it also uses another recycled product\u2014cardboard\u2014that is readily available,\u201d she says. \u201cThe way we process it is very critical for its biodegradability and sustainability.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe engineered the paper\u2019s properties in such a way that it releases the abamectin very slowly without compromising the root growth process of the yam seed. Since it\u2019s being used as a wrap, we have to tailor the strength of the paper as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

In field tests designed to test the banana paper\u2019s efficacy, researchers planted yam seeds wrapped in banana paper alone, in banana paper with small doses of abamectin, and without a banana paper wrap.<\/p>\n

The field trials in three different regions of Benin showed a considerable increase in yield and quality of crops produced from tubers treated with either abamectin-loaded or untreated banana paper. Abamectin-loaded banana paper provided the most protection from dry rot and cracking, followed by banana paper alone.<\/p>\n

The researchers are currently testing the wrap-and-plant technique on other crops, including sweet potatoes and cassava, and are looking to commercialize the technology, which could drive economic development in Africa. Previous research showed banana paper\u2019s effectiveness in African potato crops<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s more than just controlling nematodes on a yam, it\u2019s about growing a sustainable infrastructure where people are going to be better off than they were before the wrap-and-plant technology came along,\u201d Opperman says.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are now looking at this in sweet potato in Africa with some incredible results so far; we\u2019re also doing early work with sweet potato in North Carolina,\u201d Opperman adds. \u201cThere are also some good results with cassava<\/a> in Africa. We don\u2019t see a barrier to working on any crop that we can. We\u2019re also working on modifications to use this platform with actual seed.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThrough this project, everyone knows that the banana paper is a biodegradable, natural, and chemical-free delivery platform,\u201d Pirzada says. \u201cI think this is the future of agriculture.\u201d<\/p>\n

Antoine Affokpon from the University of Abomey-Calavi in Benin is a coauthor of the study. Other coauthors are from NC State.<\/p>\n

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation funded the work. The authors acknowledge the Kenan Institute for Engineering, Technology and Science at NC State. This work was performed in part at NC State\u2019s Analytical Instrumentation Facility (AIF), which is supported by the state of North Carolina and the National Science Foundation. The AIF is a member of the North Carolina Research Triangle Nanotechnology Network, a site in the National Nanotechnology Coordinated Infrastructure.<\/p>\n

Source: NC State<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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