The apple is one of the most important fruit tree crops in the Mediterranean region. Lebanon, in particular, is among the top apple producer countries in the Middle East; however, recently, several ...types of damage, particularly rot symptoms, have been detected on fruits in cold storage. This study aims to identify the causal agents of apple decay in Lebanese post-harvest facilities and characterize a set of 39 representative strains of the toxigenic fungus
. The results demonstrated that blue mould was the most frequent fungal disease associated with apples showing symptoms of decay after 3-4 months of storage at 0 °C, with an average frequency of 76.5% and 80.6% on cv. Red and cv. Golden Delicious apples, respectively. The morphological identification and phylogenetic analysis of
gene showed that most
strains (87.2%) belong to
species whereas the remaining strains (12.8%) belong to
. Furthermore, 67.7% of
strains produced patulin when grown on apple puree for 14 days at 25 °C with values ranging from 10.7 mg kg
to 125.9 mg kg
, whereas all
did not produce the mycotoxin. This study highlights the presence of
spp. and their related mycotoxin risk during apple storage and calls for the implementation of proper measures to decrease the risk of mycotoxin contamination of apple fruit products.
In developing countries, food losses occur mainly during the production, harvest, postharvest and processing phases. Because of the lack of awareness in the apple postharvest practices in Lebanon, ...this study was carried out to check the effect of good harvesting and handling practices, pre-storage sorting, and dipping in calcium and fungicide, on the percent losses of Golden Delicious apples during six months of cold storage. A highly significant reduction in the percent of total damages was observed during storage when good harvesting and handling practices and pre-storage sorting were applied. The magnitude of losses reduction depended on the type of damage registered and the practices performed. The presence of injuries was reduced by all types of good practices, applied alone or in combination. Where good harvesting and handling practices were performed, the incidence of bruising was reduced from 93.3% in the non-treated control to 37.7% and symptoms of rot were not detected. This study emphasized the importance of good harvest and postharvest practices in improving and maintaining the quality of Lebanese apples.
The farming sector in Lebanon, particularly grains production, is threatened by environmental, socio-economic, and political factors that have led to a high dependence on food imports, thereby ...undermining national food security. This study focuses on wheat production in its natural Mediterranean habitat (the Levant) and its sustainability in the West Bekaa through value chain analysis that aims to identify constraints and opportunities in the production system. The analysis is based on a survey at the level of the producers to identify the planted wheat varieties, wheat production systems, land tenure systems, marketing channels, socio-economic factors of farmers, and different types of wheat by-products. This study reveals important challenges facing the sustainability of wheat production, including farmers resorting to hybrid wheat varieties, the dependence of farmers on wheat subsidies as an incentive, the lack of land tenure security, and the virtual absence of well-organized cooperatives. On the other hand, our evidence suggests a strong dependence among wheat farmers on integrated production systems that promote agricultural sustainability. We conclude this report with recommendations to secure the sustainability of wheat production in West Bekaa in particular, and in Lebanon in general.
Studies are done on different crops worldwide to gather data allowing on one hand policy makers to implement food loss reduction strategies, and on the other hand researchers to calculate and monitor ...the food loss. This article identifies and quantifies the losses in the Lebanese apples at the cold storage level in Kesrwan-Mount Lebanon and recognises the main causes of those losses. A preliminary diagnosis based on key informant interviews was followed by assessing a sample of 29 Metric Tons (MT) of apples handled by 14 traders in three cold storage facilities. The sorted apples were assessed for the type of damage and its causes. The graded apples as assessed by traders were measured. A survey was also conducted with farmers, traders, and managers of cold storage facilities. The results identified the actors, the postharvest practices, three distinct postharvest systems and cost-profit values based on the usage of cold storage and the different marketing channels. Results showed that 5% of the stored apples were lost, only grade 1 (41%) and grade 2 (26%) could get a good price while the rest (28%) could hardly cover the cost of production. Hence, improving the production and postharvest systems would lead to higher quantities of good quality apples and meet high-end markets.
This research aims at optimizing eggplant cultivation by comparing hydroponic fertigation recipes in coco-peat substrate with traditional soil cultivation. The first two groups of 36 plants each are ...fertilized according to the recipes recommended by two companies (A and B), treatments 1 and 2 respectively. The third is fertilized according to the conventional method in the soil adopted by farmers (group C). Company A applies standard fertilizer application protocol throughout the life of the plant with a stable pH and electro conductivity of 6 and 2.8 mS / cm respectively. Company B applies an upward fertilizer scheme during the plant's production cycle with a stable pH of 5.6, but an electro conductivity that varies from 2.1 mS / cm at the vegetative phase to 2.5 mS / cm from the appearance of the 1st fruit. Despite its high investment, the two hydroponic treatments T1 and T2 showed greater plant size (127 cm and 129 cm respectively at the 12th week), more fruits (15 fruits per plant each week, compared to 8 fruits per plant in the soil), and higher yield (average mass per plant reached a maximum value at the 11th week of 1.192 g for T1 and 1,189 g for T2 compared to 499 g for the soil). The difference in revenues shows a negligible financial advantage in favor of Company B. Adopting fertilization recipe of Company A or B is not a limiting factor at the financial level hence either one of the two formulations is adequate.
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