A majority of the Sri Lankan wetlands is under threat of degradation mainly due to urbanization, population pressure and industrialization. This study was conducted to detect the changes and to assess and map the degradation risk of the Kolonnawa marsh located in the Western Province of Sri Lanka by analyzing the data collected through field surveys, remote sensing and GIS techniques. A questionnaire survey was conducted within 11 Grama Niladhari (GN) Divisions around the marsh to obtain information on household characteristics, interactions with the marsh, awareness on marsh degradation and marsh conservation. According to the temporal change assessment performed with Landsat TM (1992), Landsat ETM+ (2002) satellite images, 32 % of the marsh area has been reduced in 1992 -2002 period. According to Worldview 2 image, the total marsh area including the associated waterways in 2010 was 144.56 ha. A risk index was formulated considering the risk factors prevailing in the study area. Risk mapping, which was carried out based on the risk index resulted in three risk classes; moderate, high and very high. Mapping based on the risk index was helpful to identify the severity of the degradation risk of the marsh at GN Division level. The study identified that all surrounding GN Divisions pose risk on degradation of the marsh while the highest impact was reported from the Obesekarapura GN Division. The risk matrix was identified as an important tool in prioritizing the areas for conservation.

The necessity for food traceability has been increased over the years with the expansion of food supply chains globally over these years due to stringent of food safety regulations. Enhancing the access to quality food safely is one of the essential requirements of food supply chain traceability. Conversely, significant percentages of postharvest losses available especially in developing countries due to poor supply chain and logistics practices thereby threatening food security. Unless there is a possibility to trace the Supply chain, it is difficult to take remedial actions. When it comes to Sri Lanka, currently it is harder to have the traceability in most of the foods supply chains commonly on most of the elementary supply chains such as fruits and vegetables. This has led to postharvest losses since it is harder to identify when and where damages occur, who are accountable, harvested and transient times, supply demand mismatch too. Therefore, this paper aims to investigate the feasibility of tracing of fruit and vegetable supply chain in Sri Lanka and contribute theoretically to facilitate authorities and decision makers for future traceability improvement. Availability of secondary information on fruits and vegetables traceability was examined referring to government agencies. Basic structure of supply chain was identified based on secondary data and a case study was conducted based on supply chains linked to Thambuththegama and Keppetipola Dedicated Economic Centers to gather primary data. To quantify the feasibility of tracing, a feasibility index was developed. Developed index was used to assess the feasibility towards improved traceability of selected chains where it can be applied for other food and non-food supply chains as well. The feasibility index can be used for other fruits and vegetables supply chains too to assess the feasibility prior to implementation of a traceability system. Furthermore, it can be used for non-food supply chains with some modifications. Analysis revealed that poor feasibility of wholesalers compared to farmers and retailers. Product identification technologies, awareness and willingness for traceability improvement were ranged low to fair for all the entity categories. Hence, enhancement of record-keeping and information sharing, adopting product identification and quality measurement technologies, and strengthening of legislation were identified as key improvements for enhanced fruits and vegetable traceability and efficient postharvest management of studied supply chains

Purpose : Guava cultivations are spreading rapidly among Sri Lankan farmers, especially in dry zone. Surplus production is observed in certain months of the year. Dehydration can be used as an effective method to preserve the surplus. During dehydration, browning of guava impairs the quality of the final product. This experiment was carried out to find out the most effective browning inhibitor.Research Method : Four treatments were used prior to dehydration namely, Citric acid (CA), Ascorbic acid (AA), Sodium metabisulfite (SMS) and Blanching for 2 minute in 60 °C (BL) as twenty different combinations. The L*, a* and b* values, were recorded. Colour differences with fresh slices, total colour difference (TCD) and browning index (BI) were calculated.Findings : L*, a* and b* values were significantly different (P<0.05) among treatments. The lowest L* value difference was observed in CA 0.3% with BL (3.18±0.7). Lowest total colour difference and the lowest browning index were observed in blanching treatment followed by CA 0.3% with BL. Whereas the highest TCD was in control sample (21.86 ± 2.75) and the highest BI was in SMS 0.5% with BL (55.38±8.59). Results revealed that out of the treatments under study, BL only and CA 0.3% with BL were the most effective solutions to overcome the browning of guava during dehydration.Originality/ Value : Research findings could be used in guava dehydration industry to preserve the colour and visual quality of the dehydrated products which will increase the consumer acceptability and demand thereby reducing postharvest losses.