Domestication potential of Marula (Sclerocarya birrea subsp caffra) in South Africa and Namibia: 2. Phenotypic variation in nut and kernel traits

Leakey, Roger R.B.; Pate, Kris; Lombard, C.

doi:10.1007/s10457-005-2420-6

Cited by 49 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…The quantity of the kernels produced depends on the geographic location and the cultivar. For instance, the mean kernel mass (0.42 g) was significantly greater in fruit-nuts harvested from the farmer's field than in the fruit-nut obtained from communal land (0.30 g) and 0.32 g kernel from natural woodland fruit nuts [8]. Large quantities of marula fruits are collected each season, primarily to eat fresh or used to prepare non-alcoholic juice or alcoholic beverage (fermented juice) and jam.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Morula Tree: From Fruit to Wine through Spontaneous Fermentation and the Potential of Deriving Other Value-Added Products

2022

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Sclerocarya birrea (Morula tree) is one of the indigenous trees bearing wild fruits with various applications in the African communities. Wine is a globally known beverage usually made from grapes; however, recently, other fruits, including wild fruits with a considerable amount of sugars, can be used for making wines. The marula fruit wine is also important in many communities for cultural activities and can be enjoyed by people of varying age groups depending on the age of the product. In recent years, there has been growing interest in shifting from traditional marula winemaking to developing technologies for the marula winemaking process and commercialisation. The process of marula winemaking is similar to the production of grape wines, which entails collection, selection and washing of the fruits; extraction of the juice and mashing; formation and removal of the scum; and ultimately spontaneous fermentation of the resulting juice. The new process in marula winemaking would take into consideration the use of starter cultures as either monoculture or mixed cultures developed from the native marula fruit microbiota and the pasteurisation of the juice. The main challenge or difficulty with marula is the extraction of sugar and other soluble solids from the pulp more than it is for the grapes. The other challenge confronting the sustainability of marula wine is the seasonality of the fruit and poor juice yield. It is therefore imperative to develop strategies to increase the juice yield without affecting the quality, to preserve the marula fruits to ensure the year-round presence of marula fruit wine in the markets and, consequently, to improve the income generation capacity of the households dependent on the product. In addition to achieving a high juice yield, it is imperative to ensure consistent quality wine products. This review gives an overview of the S. birrea subsp. caffra and the biochemical components of the fruits or juice. It also highlights the use of marula fruits for wine production in African communities. The potential economic sustainability of the marula fruit wine is explored, particularly in southern Africa, where the marula tree (Morula) is abundant and the marula fruit wine is popularly produced. The review also examines the opportunities, challenges and future prospects of the marula fruit wine.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Morula Tree: From Fruit to Wine through Spontaneous Fermentation and the Potential of Deriving Other Value-Added Products

2022

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“…However, if distinct cultivated varieties are selected for contrasting phenotypes, then phenotypic variance will be higher in cultivated plants (Gepts 2004; Rindos 1984). Some even have used changes in the variance and shape of the distribution of traits as an indicator of the degree of domestication shown by populations of indigenous fruit trees (e.g., Leakey et al 2004; Leakey et al 2005a,b). …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Domestication Syndrome in Caimito (Chrysophyllum cainito L.): Fruit and Seed Characteristics

et al. 2010

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Domestication Syndrome in Caimito (Chrysophyllum cainitoL.): Fruit and Seed Characteristics: The process of domestication is understudied and poorly known for many tropical fruit tree crops. The star apple or caimito tree (Chrysophyllum cainito L., Sapotaceae) is cultivated throughout the New World tropics for its edible fruits. We studied this species in central Panama, where it grows wild in tropical moist forests and is also commonly cultivated in backyard gardens. Using fruits collected over two harvest seasons, we tested the hypothesis that cultivated individuals of C. cainito show distinctive fruit and seed characteristics associated with domestication relative to wild types. We found that cultivated fruits were significantly and substantially larger and allocated more to pulp and less to exocarp than wild fruits. The pulp of cultivated fruits was less acidic; also, the pulp had lower concentrations of phenolics and higher concentrations of sugar. The seeds were larger and more numerous and were less defended with phenolics in cultivated than in wild fruits. Discriminant Analysis showed that, among the many significant differences, fruit size and sugar concentration drove the great majority of the variance distinguishing wild from cultivated classes. Variance of pulp phenolics among individuals was significantly higher among wild trees than among cultivated trees, while variance of fruit mass and seed number was significantly higher among cultivated trees. Most traits showed strong correlations between years. Overall, we found a clear signature of a domestication syndrome in the fruits of cultivated caimito in Panama.

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“…The Bushbuckridge district is in north-eastern South Africa next to the Kruger National Park (Figure 1). Many studies about firewood collection and savanna ecosystems were conducted in the Bushbuckridge area [8,9,[25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34], which is also a part of the Kruger to Canyon (K2C) Biosphere Region [9,31,32]. The availability of excellent prior knowledge and existing long-term data make Bushbuckridge a prime geographical region for social-ecological simulation models.…”

Section: Study Sidementioning

confidence: 99%

Firewood Collection in South Africa: Adaptive Behavior in Social-Ecological Models

Lenfers

Weyl

Clemen

2018

Land

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Due to the fact that the South Africa’s savanna landscapes are under changing conditions, the previously sustainable firewood collection system in rural areas has become a social-ecological factor in questions about landscape management. While the resilience of savannas in national parks such as Kruger National Park (KNP) in South Africa has been widely acknowledged in ecosystem management, the resilience of woody vegetation outside protected areas has been underappreciated. Collecting wood is the dominant source of energy for rural households, and there is an urgent need for land management to find sustainable solutions for this complex social-ecological system. However, the firewood collection scenario is only one example, and stands for all “human-ecosystem service” interactions under the topic of over-utilization, e.g., fishery, grazing, harvesting. Agent-based modeling combined with goal-oriented action planning (GOAP) can provide fresh insights into the relationship between individual needs of humans and changes in land use. At the same time, this modeling approach includes adaptive behavior under changing conditions. A firewood collection scenario was selected for a proof-of-concept comprising households, collectors, ecosystem services and firewood sites. Our results have shown that, even when it is predictable what a single human agent will do, massive up-scaling is needed in order to understand the whole complexity of social-ecological systems. Under changing conditions, such as climate and an increasing population, fair distribution of natural goods become an important issue.

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Domestication potential of Marula (Sclerocarya birrea subsp caffra) in South Africa and Namibia: 2. Phenotypic variation in nut and kernel traits

Cited by 49 publications

References 14 publications

Morula Tree: From Fruit to Wine through Spontaneous Fermentation and the Potential of Deriving Other Value-Added Products

Morula Tree: From Fruit to Wine through Spontaneous Fermentation and the Potential of Deriving Other Value-Added Products

Domestication Syndrome in Caimito (Chrysophyllum cainito L.): Fruit and Seed Characteristics

Firewood Collection in South Africa: Adaptive Behavior in Social-Ecological Models

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