Rice has become an important staple in Ghana in recent years but most consumption is met by imports. In this study, farmers' preferences for rice varietal traits especially grain quality and the relationship of grain quality with consumer acceptability of locally produced rice was investigated in the Ashanti region of Ghana. Both formal and informal survey approaches were employed to collect data. The farmers preferred rice varieties with high yield potential and excellent grain quality. Jasmine 85 was the most popular variety because of its good taste and pleasant aroma. Other important traits that farmers consider in choosing a variety included plant height, threshability, disease resistance and weed competitiveness but these were site specific. Most consumers preferred imported to locally produced rice because the former had better appearance, cooking and eating qualities. Surprisingly, consumers' perceptions on various grain quality attributes were generally lower than those of farmers. However, quality attributes were considered by both farmers and consumers to be important for making choices for rice varieties and their specific preferences largely coincided. Most consumers and farmers prefer long grain aromatic rice that cooks soft and fluffy. The results of the survey emphasizes the need for Rice breeders in Ghana and the West African sub-region in general to focus more on breeding for improved grain quality in addition to high yield potential and tolerance to biotic and abiotic stresses.

No abstract

Groundnut is the most important legume in Ghana. The crop is grown in all the agroecologies in the country; from the dry savannah regions to the moist forest areas. Several food preparations incorporate groundnut to improve the protein level, taste and flavour. Despite the importance of the crop, the chemical compositions of the varieties grown by farmers have not been analyzed according to their nutritional quality. Oil, fatty acids, protein, oleic/linoleic (O/L) acid ratio, iodine value and free soluble sugars were studied in 20 groundnut varieties grown in Ghana to determine their nutritional quality and to inform endusers which variety to choose for maximum benefit. Results indicated a significant difference (p<0.05) in oil content among the varieties. Oil content ranged from 33.60 to 54.95%. Mean oil content of the subspecies hypogaea (49.7%) was higher than in subspecies fastigiata (47.3%). The major fatty acids were oleic and linoleic which accounted for 77.89% of the total fatty acids. The subspecies hypogaea had significantly higher (p<0.01) content of oleic acid (55.9%) than the subspecies fastigiata (43.3%). The sum of three fatty acids oleic, linoleic and palmitic acid constitute 89.35% of the total fatty acids of the seeds. The mean O/L ratio ranged from 1.14 to 3.66; the mean for subspecies hypogaea was 2.59 as compared to 1.28 for subspecies fastigiata. There was high correlation between oleic and O/L acid ratio (r 2 =0.983) and negative correlation between oleic acid and linoleic acid (r 2 =-0.996). The iodine value ranged from 85.77 to 98.43% and total soluble sugars from 9.20 to 13.30%. Protein of defatted portion ranged from 39.65 to 53.45%. Subspecies fastigiata had higher mean protein content than subspecies hypogaea. Generally, there were significant variations in the parameters measured in the groundnut varieties. Five varieties with O/L ratio more than 2.0 were identified and their oils would be further tested for their stability.

The grain quality of rice has recently attracted a lot of attention around the world, including Africa. Rice germplasm in African gene banks has not been adequately characterized for its cooking and eating qualities which are mainly controlled by starch physicochemical properties. The aim of this study was to characterize two groups of rice germplasm from Africa and the U.S. for starch properties including gelatinization temperature (GT), apparent amylose content (AAC), and paste viscosity (RVA), and to determine molecular marker associations with these traits. Wide diversity was found for all traits studied. Variation in these traits was significantly associated with molecular markers for the alk and waxy genes which encodes soluble SS II (SSIIa) and granule bound synthase (GBSS) enzymes, respectively. Based on four previously reported waxy SNP haplotypes, 93.1 and 75.9% of the variation in AAC was explained for the U.S. and African germplasm, respectively. The classification of the genotypes by their SNP haplotypes helped to clarify the relationship between AAC and peak viscosity. The characterization of individual lines using physicochemical properties and functional markers, and the determination of marker‐trait associations will facilitate the breeding of rice for grain quality in Africa and elsewhere.

The need to obtain crop varieties that are tolerant to heat and drought cannot be overemphasised especially with the threat of climate change to agricultural productivity in sub-Saharan Africa. Bambara groundnut has been identified as a drought tolerant crop; however, variations exist among landraces with respect to drought tolerance. An experiment was therefore conducted to evaluate the performance of five bambara groundnut landraces: Black eye, Burkina, NAV 4, NAV Red and Tom, to drought and heat stress, at the Irrigation Company of Upper East Region (ICOUR) at Tono-Navrongo in the Upper East Region of Ghana. The experiment was arranged in a Randomized Complete Block Design with three replicates. The heat trial was irrigated once weekly to field capacity until crop maturity. The drought trial was irrigated once weekly until 30 DAS, after which irrigation ceased. Burkina, a landrace from Burkina Faso produced the highest pod yield of 1.2 t/ha under the heat treatment. Tom did not produce any pod yield. Under drought, Burkina exhibited the greatest root dry weight and leaf area at 120 DAS, and had the longest leaf area duration (LAD). Burkina exhibited bunch canopy architecture, while NAV 4, NAV Red, and Black eye had an intermediate canopy type and Tom a spreading type. Burkina proved the most drought and heat tolerant among the five landraces evaluated. Though a drought tolerant crop, temperatures beyond 38°C and low relative humidity can negatively affect pod yield of bambara groundnut even when irrigation is provided. It is important to test the performance of a crop under a new environment before money is invested into its production in that environment.