Browsing by Author "Munjuga, Moses"
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Item Allanblackia, A New Tree Crop in Africa for The Global Food Industry: Market Development, Smallholder Cultivation And Biodiversity Management(Taylor & Francis, 2009-12) Jamnadass, Ramni; Dawson, Ian K.; Anegbeh, Paul; Asaah, Ebenezar K.; Atangana, Alain; Cordeiro, Norbert J.; Hendrickx, Harrie; Henneh, Samuel; Kadu, Caroline A. C.; Kattah, Cyril; Misbah, Maha; Muchugi, Alice; Munjuga, Moses; Mwaura, Lucy; Ndangalasi, Henry J.; Njau, Chrispine S.; Nyame, Samuel K.; Ofori, Daniel A.; Peprah, Theresa; Joanne, Russel; Rutatina, Fidelis; Sawe, Corodius; Lars, Schmidt; Tchoundjeu, Zac; Simons, TonyThe seeds of Allanblackia trees produce edible oil with significant global market potential. Consequently, a private-public partnership involving Unilever and known as 'Novella Africa' is engaged in the development of Allanblackia as a new crop in a number of African countries. The purpose of this partnership is to build a profitable and sustainable initiative for harvest, marketing and cultivation. Rural communities are directly involved and a participatory approach to domestication is being followed to maximise fanners' livelihood benefits. This is the first time a multinational company has partnered in such an approach, and the initiative represents an example for the domestication of other new tree crops. Investing in good communication between partners is considered to be essential to success by ensuring trust and a common understanding of priorities. Progress to date has involved the establishment of market supply chains for oil, based firstly on wild harvest, and the initiation of cultivation by smallholders. Further work will involve the development of rural resource centres to deliver improved germplasm to growers. At the same time, these centres will provide other services such as market information, credit and access to buyers. Through this strategy it is foreseen that there will be progress towards the development of a market value chain which removes producers' constraints to profitable involvement. Furthermore, the diversification of farmers' cropping systems should have positive impacts for biodiversity and provide resilience in the face of climate change. Currently, the most important activity under the initiative is the promotion of Allanblackia planting, so that production constraints do not hamper market development.Item Aspects Of The Floral and Fruit Biology of Allanblackia Stuhlmannii (CLUSIACEAE), An Endemic Tanzanian Tree(2009-07) Mathew, Mathayo M.; Munjuga, Moses; Ndangalasi, Henry J.; Cordeiro, Norbert J.Various economically important tropical tree species are not well known biologically. We studied the floral and fruit biology of Allariblackia stuhlmannii (Clusiaceae), a dioecious tree species endemic to the Eastern Arc Mountains of Tanzania and Kenya that has become the subject of recent interest by the food industry because of the edible oil that can be extracted from the seeds. We characterised qualitative and quantitative similarities and differences between male and female flowers, the flowering and fruiting phenology, and examined the relationship between fruit crop production and tree size, seeds per fruit, and seed number as a function of fruit mass. There was no significant difference in sugar concentration of nectar between male and female flowers, but male flowers contained significantly more nectar than female flowers. Male trees had larger flowering displays with a tendency for the population to mast profusely between January and March, which coincided with the peak fruiting period. The fruiting period was pronounced from January to March, which appeared to be preceded by a smaller peak in October. Fruit crop was strongly related to tree size, with mean seed number per fruit being 38. Seed quantity per fruit showed a trend to increase with fruit mass, but this relationship was not significant. General physical resemblance of female flowers to male flowers, the latter of which offer multiple floral cues to attract pollinators, suggests a pollination-by-deceit strategy. Our results provide important insights on the natural history of this tree species and carry implications for its future use.