Planetary health brings together intrinsically linked issues of human health and natural systems. This paper reviews evidence of how agrobiodiversity underpins dietary diversity for current human populations in the context of fruits and vegetables, and ways to maintain and improve these for future generations. Both the conservation and sustainable use of fruit and vegetable biodiversity and the consumption of diverse diets are sub-optimal, and in many contexts getting worse. Agrobiodiversity and nutrition are linked through food availability, access, conservation and consumption, with potential win-wins but notable trade-offs for policy and action through time, place, agrobiodiversity use, and equity. We pinpoint research gaps and call for inclusive deliberation for action.

The above mentioned article, was originally published Online First without Open Access. After publication in volume 40, issue 1, page 93–99 the author decided to opt for Open Choice and to make the article an Open Access publication.

The aim of present research was to assess and document the practices for prevailed food safety and quality standards as employed by small scale growers and market managers in the vegetable supply chains of Pakistan. For this purpose, cross-sectional data were collected from two provinces (Sindh and Punjab) of Pakistan targeting commercial vegetables, i.e., potato, tomato, onion, and chilies. Information regarding the food safety and quality were recorded during field survey from all the supply chain participants, i.e., growers, harvesters, processors, traders, and exporters through well-designed questionnaires. The collected data adherence with the standard requirements and identifying constraints of chain actors were analyzed using descriptive analysis. Results showed that many practices such as soil and ground water contamination, pesticide and fungicide residuals, microbial contaminants, infected labour, diggers, packaging migrants, clothes, surfaces and non-food grade containers may enhance the chances of food borne diseases among consumers. Therefore, training needs have been identified for all stakeholders that need to be addressed which will develop their understanding about the quality requirements and safety regulations. It will create opportunity in the advanced markets at national and international levels and new opportunities may arise to enhance stakeholders’ income.

A codling moth, Cydia pomonella (L.) is one of the serious insect pests damaging fruits of the family Rosaceae (Shel Deshova, 1967). It can feed on apple, apricot, plum, walnut and other species (Wearing et al., 2001; Boncheva et al., 2006; Soleno et al., 2008). This pest is of Eurasia origin but its adoptability has been reported from cool temperate climates to the Mediterranean climates of the world (Steinberg et al., 1992). Its internal feeding on apple flush makes fruit unacceptable for market use. Insecticidal treatment remained the main control strategy to regulate the population of codling moth over long period of time. However, dependence on chemical control has led towards environmental and health problems; and appearance of resistant population of codling moth to several widely used insecticides (Reuveny and Cohen, 2004; Knight et al., 1994; Charmillot et al., 1999).

Key chili and maize growing areas of Pakistan were selected for a focused baseline study of the levels of Aspergillus spp. Investigations were undertaken using a combination of molecular and culture-based techniques. Samples investigated included soil samples, one-year-old corn cobs, and fresh chili from selected locations. Aspergillus strains obtained from corn cobs were screened using coconut milk agar, resulting in one strain that was positive for aflatoxin production. Whole genome sequencing (WGS) with low coverage techniques were employed to screen the isolates for differences in the ribosomal RNA gene cluster and mitochondrial genome, with the aflatoxigenic strain proving to have a distinctive profile. Finally, strains were subjected to matrix-assisted laser-desorption and ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-ToF-MS) in order to obtain a proteomic 'fingerprint' which was used to distinguish the aflatoxigenic strain from the other isolates. The next generation sequencing (NGS) study was broadened to incorporate metabarcoding with ITS rRNA for determining the microbial biodiversity of the soil samples and presumptive screening for the presence of aflatoxigenic strains. Using information gleaned from the WGS results, a putative aflatoxigenic operational taxonomic unit (OTU) was observed in four of the 15 soil samples screened by metabarcoding. This method may have beneficial applications in early detection and surveillance programs in agricultural soils and commodities.

The melon fruit fly, Zeugodacus cucurbitae (Coquillett) is a quarantine insect pest worldwide and affects the vegetable quality through its direct feeding and indirectly by passing way for secondary pathogens. This study investigated the host susceptibility, preference and offspring performance of Z. cucurbitae under the laboratory conditions. Different vegetable hosts i.e., brinjal (Solanum melongena L.), bitter gourd (Momordica charantia L.), zucchini (Cucurbita pepo L.), bottle gourd (Lagenaria siceraria [Molina] Standley) and cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) were tested under no choice and free choice tests. Results showed that C. sativus and C. pepo have highest number of visits/host and oviposition puncture/host. C. sativus showed highest pupal recovery and pupal weight in both only choice and free choice test. While, highest percentage of emergence and female off springs were observed in C. pepo under only choice and free choice scenarios. Furthermore, maximum deformities in progeny were observed in case of L. siceraria under both test case scenarios. The current study provides exploratory support that fruit flies respond differently to host species that co-exists in field under choice and no choice test. Further, hosts of advantage to fruit flies are adopted more. The host and choice preference of fruit flies have the influence on the pest management strategies for the vegetable crops.

Aflatoxins are produced by different strains of Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus parasiticus, found in different agricultural commodities. Contamination of aflatoxin in food crops is a global issue and ingestion of such crops leads to drastic effects on health of animals and humans. Up to 25% of worlds agricultural commodities are thought to be contaminated with mycotoxins leading to economic constraints on exporting countries. Innovative technologies are being utilized to reduce aflatoxin contamination in food crops. Proper preand postharvest technologies, heat treatment, chemical treatment and microbiological agents are some steps being utilized for the reduction of aflatoxin contamination. Amongst these technologies, biological control has the potential to successfully control and reduce aflatoxin contamination of agricultural crops by using competitive elimination of pathogenic strains of Aspergillus spp. by nonpathogenic strains.

About 60% of Pakistan's population live in rural areas where multidimensional poverty is much higher than it is in urban centres. The majority of the rural population depends on agriculture for their subsistence. Many farmers operate family smallholdings - comprising less than 5 acres of land where vegetables are often a major, but highly variable, source of household income. This study was conducted to investigate options to improve the livelihood of these communities, particularly women and youth, on a sustainable basis. Four major vegetables (onion, potato, tomato, chillies) were selected to identify potential interventions at all stages of the value chains. A survey was conducted in major production areas in Sindh and Punjab. This included structured interviews with value chain participants; data validation by focus group discussions and a consultative workshop; and data analysis. The findings confirmed the inconsistent quantity and quality of vegetables supplied to the market. If addressed, this represents significant potential for improved financial returns for small-scale vegetable producers and other value chain participants. Challenges include production constraints (such as seed quality, price of inputs, and pests and diseases) and economic constraints (such as mechanism of access to capital, credit, tenancy/land).Overarching socio-cultural factors include the lack of knowledge to address these constraints (including inadequate extension services), restricted agency for women and youth, and barriers to working collaboratively within some communities. Based on these findings, a multidisciplinary 'whole-of-the-value-chain' approach addressing the abovementioned constraints has been developed for improving the livelihood of the target communities, with special attention to women and youth. Partnerships with public and private institutions throughout the testing and application of value chain interventions are considered vital to sustain impacts.

Typhlodromus divergentis (Acari: Phytoseiidae) is a predatory mite of the family Phytoseiidae. Phytoseiid mites are known as one of the most promising biocontrol agents against spider mites. Biological studies of T. divergentis including preference of prey stage and predatory potential on Tetranychus urticae were conducted at CABI Biocontrol Laboratory, Directorate of Plant Protection, Agriculture Research Institute, Quetta, Pakistan. To conduct stage preference studies; different combinations of spider mites’ life stages i.e. (a) eggs + immatures (b) eggs + adults and (c) immatures + adults, were evaluated for larval, nymphal and adult stages of T. divergentis. The results suggested that eggs and immature stages of spider mites were preferred in all combinations for feeding by T. divergentis (larvae, nymph and adult stages). In case of predatory potential, each prey stage (egg, immature and adult) was provided separately to T. divergentis and maximum consumption of T. divergentis against T. urticae was observed in egg stage (70 ± 3.56%) followed by immature stage (49 ± 2.34%) and adult stage (10 ± 1.91%). Based on results, it is suggested that T. divergentis has the ability to maintain spider mites population by lowering their eggs and immature stages under dry conditions of Quetta, Balochistan.

Khapra beetle ( Trogoderma granarium ) is designated as a quarantine insect pest worldwide due to its voracious feeding on stored grains. Development of insecticidal resistance and its ability to withstand starvation for longer time makes it one of the most destructive arthropod for stored products. It is primarily known as pest of stored wheat, where it can cause up to 30% postharvest losses. During recent years (2010-2014), the reports of occurrence of Khapra beetle in rice supply chains of Pakistan and stiff competition in world rice market resulted in decline of rice exports from 42 million tons to 37 million tons to partner countries and caused 1000 million dollars value loss to rice industry. This review briefly describes the current status and economic impact of Khapra beetle under storage conditions with special focus on its effects on rice supply chain in Pakistan. Potential management practices to regulate population of this arthropod under storage conditions are also given.

Potential of Biological Control of Aflatoxins Causing Organisms in Rice and Maize Value Chains in Pakistan Babar Ehsan Bajwa, Hamzah Bhatti, Tanveer Ahmad, Muhammad Sohail Mazhar Abstract Mycotoxins contamination of cropsposes significant economic losses to both crop producers and traders who give market discounts for the contaminated products.Aflatoxin, being one of the most abundant mycotoxins in everyday food commodities such as rice and maize is of utmost importance due to its hepatotoxic, mutagenic and carcinogenic causing characteristics along with the extensive economic losses caused by aflatoxin contamination.Aflatoxins refer to a group of four mycotoxins (B1, B2, G1 and G2) produced primarily by two interrelated fungi, Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus parasiticus. Rice and maize are prone to aflatoxin contamination during the growing, harvesting, storage, transporting and processing stages. Therefore, there is a need to determine the present status of aflatoxin levels in supply chains of rice and maize in Pakistan for making a comparison with the permissible levels set by the food regulatory authorities in a pursuit to ensure safe food supply. Among aflatoxin management methods,biological control appears to be the most promising and sustainable approach(because the non-toxic strains of aflatoxin-causing fungi occupy the same ecological niche as the toxic strains) for control of aflatoxins in both pre- and post- harvest stages of the respective supply chains.Baseline studies need to be conducted on aflatoxins in target agro-climatic regions to improve the supply chain of cereal grains in Pakistan. Full Text: PDF DOI: 10.15640/jaes.v6n2a11

Pakistan is an agriculture based economy and horticulture is an important industry of this sector. Fresh produce export contributes significant amount of resources to National Gross Domestic Product. However, with increasing food quality and safety awareness amongst the consumers in high end international and domestic markets, and the lack of capacity on behalf of growers and traders to cater the needs of the well-deserved fresh produce consumers is resulting in loss of export markets for the fresh produce industry of Pakistan. Prevalence of aflatoxins in fresh produce commodities at the time of consumption is one of the growing food safety concerns. While some of the published research has established that aflatoxins are found in fresh produce commodities grown in Pakistan and marketed in Arab countries, Europe, and in domestic markets, only limited and random scientific research supports the evidence of presence of the specific quantities and types of aflatoxins in specific fresh produce commodities. There remains a need to conduct a supply chain focused comprehensive research study on assessment of aflatoxins in the major fresh produce commodities of Pakistan.

Evaluation of the effect of kitchen gardening on food security and socio-economic conditions were made after imparting training to poor women of Muzaffargarh. Assessment after training showed that the women who participated in the training were more aware about growing of vegetables timely and with proper management for higher production. Economically they became capable of saving the money incurred in terms of buying vegetables from the market. Also they were able to grow the vegetables organically without polluting the environment with agrochemicals residues. Most of the participants extended their activity and they started to grow vegetables not only for their domestic requirement but also to sale their produce in markets to increase their family income. Due to this exercise the women became able to identify the beneficial and harmful insects which also help them to use the insecticides safe for beneficial insects. This training also has the positive impact on social and economic life of the women community by increasing their income and providing them chances to have close interaction with each other.

The painted bug, Bagrada hilaris (Burmeister) (Heteroptera: Pentatomidae), has been found in the United States. Without its coevolved natural enemies it has become a serious threat to cole and other crops. The painted bug is native to eastern and southern Africa through western Asia (Map 417 1981, Distribution Maps of Pests, Commonwealth Agricultural Bureau). In the United States, it was first documented in coastal southern California in 2008 and, by 2012, it had dispersed to areas within Arizona, Nevada, Utah, New Mexico, and west Texas (Palumbo and Natwick 2010, Plant Health Progr. doi:10.1094/PHP-2010-0621-01BR; Bundy et al. 2012, Southwest. Entomol. 37: 411–414; Reed et al. 2013, J. Integrated Pest Manag. 4: doi: http//dx.doi.org/10.1603/IPM13007). More recently, it was reported from cole crops in Coahuila, Mexico (Sanchez-Pena 2014, Southwest. Entomol. 39: 375–376). It is expected to continue to spread, threatening the commercial cole crop industry and ornamentals east of the Mississippi River. A classical biological control project was initiated in 2014 to discover and import key natural enemies within the area of origin of B. hilaris for quarantine evaluation in the United States. This is a report on initial results. Surveys were conducted in 2014 throughout Pakistan for natural enemies of this pest pentatomid, focused on parasitoids associated with their eggs. Although well known as a pest of Brassica crops, this insect is highly polyphagous and has been previously reported in Pakistan from a wide range of plants including Brassica oleracea L., Brassica rapa L. (as Brassica campestris L.), Brassica napus L.,

The present study was undertaken during crop years 2004 and 2005 to assess the effect of different treatments and temperatures on the shelf life of Kinnows during storage. The objective of this study was to conduct postharvest management studies of Kinnows through the application of different wax treatments and storage temperatures to extend shelf life and to improve the postharvest quality of Kinnows for export marketing. The treated Kinnows were tested for different physicochemical and sensory parameters. The different parts of Kinnows were subjected to analyses in order to ascertain the presence of different pesticides and fungicides. The Kinnows were treated with two commercially available waxes, i.e., shellac based wax and polyethylene based wax and tested their efficacy during two crop years i.e., 2004 and 2005. The Kinnows were stored at four temperatures to determine the effect of different storage temperatures on life, physicochemical and sensory parameters. The different evaluations regarding the postharvest management were analysis of the Kinnows carried out after an interval of 15 days during the whole course of study up to 105 days storage.

The 2006 Free Trade Agreement between Pakistan and China, which in principle opened the Chinese market to Pakistan mangoes, could be significant to the Pakistan mango industry, given that China is the largest fruit consuming country in the world and Pakistan is among the world's top mango producers. It could increase Pakistan mango export volumes while at the same time expose Chinese consumers to new mango cultivars. This paper reports on research into the development of the Chinese market for Pakistan mangoes that has been carried out since 2006 under the Australia-Pakistan Agricultural Sector Linkages Program. This research has involved consumer surveys and sensory evaluations, trial shipments and pilot scale supply chain development. Results indicate that Pakistan mangoes have potential in the Chinese market. They are particularly attractive to Chinese consumers because of their sweetness. However, the development of this market will require commitment and cooperation from firms along the whole chain i.e., farmers, contractors, exporters, importers, wholesalers and retailers. This has yet to be achieved.

Summary Physiological disorders like chilling injury (CI), rind staining (RS) and physiological loss in weight (PLW) limit the postharvest shelf life and reduce the quality of mandarins. Citrus reticulata Blanco mandarins were examined for these physiological disorders by coating with shellac‐based wax (SBW) and polyethylene‐based wax (PBW). The effect of storage temperature on these disorders was assessed by storing the fruit at 2, 5 and 8 °C and at ambient temperatures. The CI, RS and PLW were significantly affected because of the variation in temperature in both crop years ( P < 0.01). Mandarins kept at 5 °C showed more reduction in PLW, CI and RS than at other temperatures. The SBW was more prone to RS and CI when compared with PBW. Coating mandarins with PBW showed significant reduction in CI because of lower production of ethanol and acetaldehyde. It may be concluded that RS and CI can be effectively controlled by storing fruits at 5 °C and coating with polyethylene‐based coatings.

Purpose - Pakistan is an agricultural country having the world's largest canal irrigation system. Indus basin that covers 70 percent of irrigated area for crop production is the major source of water in the country. Owing to rapid increase in population and uncertain environmental conditions, this water is not adequate to cope with the crop water requirement and needs additional means to provide extra water for agricultural purposes. The main source of irrigation is canal and ground water but the quality of ground water is so poor for the sustainability of agriculture system. To cope with the present demand, use of municipal sewage water that consists of domestic liquid waste, as well as industrial effluents, is becoming a common practice. The present study aims to reflect the hazardous effects of sewage water on the environment, with the main focus on heavy metals and chemical composition of soil and vegetables.Design/methodology/approach - Industrial effluent was collected from one ghee mill, one flour mill, three textile industries and three hosieries located in Faisalabad, an industrial city of Pakistan highly affected with water pollution. All water samples were analyzed for pH, EC, SAR and RSC. Water analysis was also carried out for various nutrients and heavy metals (K+1, P2+, Fe2+, Cu2+, Zn2+, Mn2+, Ni2+ and Pb2+). Soil samples from various depths (0-15, 15-30, 30-60, 60-90 and 90-120 cm) were taken to analyze for EC, pH, SAR, Na+1, SO4, K+1, P2+, Fe2+, Cu2+, Zn2+, Mn2+, Ni2+ and Pb2+ after irrigation with canal water and sewage water. Cadmium, lead and copper concentration was determined in various vegetables grown in areas irrigated with canal water and industrial effluents to determine their final concentration in the final product ultimately affecting the human health.Findings - Although the sewage water is a source of many nutrients, it also includes a significant amount of heavy metals like Fe2+, Cu2+, Zn2+, Mn2+, Ni2+, Pb2+ and pathogens. Extensive use of this effluent for irrigation purpose has resulted in an upsurge of such metals in soils and various crops, which ultimately resulted in clinical problems in human beings.Originality/value - The present study reflects the composition of sewage water and heavy metal accumulation in soil, as well as crops. It further highlights the different potential hazards to humans due to these contaminants.