Optimized biotransformation of acid-treated water melon peel hydrolyzate into ethanol

Today, global focus of research is to explore the solution of energy crisis and environmental pollution. Like other agricultural countries, bulk quantities of watermelon peels (WMP) are disposed-off in environment as waste in Pakistan and appropriate management of this waste is the need of hour to save environment from pollution. The work emphasizes the role of ethanologenic yeasts to utilize significant sugars present in WMP for low-cost bioethanol fermentation. Dilute hydrochloric acid hydrolysis of WMP was carried out on optimized conditions employing RSM (response surface methodology) following central composite design (CCD). This experimental design is based on optimization of ethanologenesis involving some key independent parameters such as WMP hydrolysate and synthetic media ratio (X1), incubation temperature (X2) and incubation temperature (X3) for maximal ethanol yield exploiting standard (Saccharomyces cerevisiae K7) as well as experimental (Metchnikowia cibodasensisY34) yeasts. The results revealed that maximal ethanol yields obtained from S. cerevisiae K7 was 0.36±0.02 g/g of reducing sugars whereas M. cibodasensisY34, yielded 0.40±0.01 g ethanol/g of reducing sugars. The yeast isolate M. cibodasensisY34 appeared as promising ethanologen and embodies prospective potential for fermentative valorization of WMP-to-bioethanol.

Proximate Analysis and Antinutritional Factors of Water Melon Seeds (Citrullus lenatus)

Water melon (citrullus lanatus) is a flowering plant species of the Cucurbitaceae family. It is- rich in an amino - acid called citrulline and may help move blood through the body and widely used as flavouring agent and also contributes substantially towards obtaining a balanced diet. This research was aimed to evaluate the proximate and anti nutritional factors of the plant to ensure human and animal food security. The proximate composition was done by soxhlet extraction, AOAC, Kjeldhal and other standard procedures while anti nutrients were analysed using standard procedures. The results of the research revealed the proximate composition of the water melon seeds such as moisture content, crude protein, lipids, ash content, crude fibre and carbohydrate. Low moisture content (5.20±0.003) high proteins (17.844±0.012) and lipids (18.208± 0.004) with others detected in moderate amount was obtained. Anti - nutritional factors such as oxalate, phytate, cyanide, nitrate, and tannin were also analyzed which revealed low oxalate content (0.005± 0.003) with moderate amount of phytate (4.366±0141), nitrate (47.309±0.539) and cyanide (41.510±0.138). Therefore water melon seeds might be vital in maintaining an optimum nutritional status to avoid malnutrition, morbidity or mortality.

Crop water and irrigation requirements of some selected crops in southwestern hydrological zone of Nigeria

This study was carried out to determine the crop water and irrigation requirement of some selected crops in southwestern Nigeria. The crops are cucumber, water melon, maize, groundnut, eggplant and tomato. Irrigation requirement and crop coefficient for each crops were determined from the interrelationships of the evapotranspiration, soil type, bulk density, field capacity and the effective root zone of the crops at the selected locations using CROPWAT for windows version 8. Soil parameters used for analysis were determined from laboratory experiment. The crop evapotranspiration and water requirement for cucumber varied from 2.52 to 7.21mm/day and 17 to 73.2mm/dec, respectively, for maize from 1.36 to 6.35mm/day and 5.1 to 63.5mm/dec respectively, for watermelon varied from 2.59 to 6.67mm/day and 25.9 to 73.3mm/dec respectively, for eggplant varied from 1.92 to 6.35 mm/day and 15.9 to 64.4mm/dec respectively. The irrigation requirement for water melon and cucumber recorded the highest value of 461.6 and 497.4mm/dec respectively, an indication that the two crops require more water for physiological activities. The reduction in the values of crop coefficient was observed during the study which could be attributed to the reduction in evapotranspiration at the late stage of growth. The findings also showed that known quantities of irrigation water could be used in producing crops optimally.

HYDROPONICS SYSTEM AS AN ALTERNATIVE TO SOIL FARMING OF WATERMELON IN NIGERIA

Watermelon is an important vegetable consumed worldwide. It is mostly grown in a sandy loam soil with a pH value ranging from 6.5 to 7.5. However, due to the constraints in land accessibility coupled to the farmers-herders clashes for limited land resources in Nigeria, it is important to shift the focus from land extensification to intensification farming. This study therefore compares the potential of hydroponics system of cultivating watermelon relative to conventional soil farming system. Three varieties of water melon (Diamond black, Crimson sweet and Travelers watermelon varieties) were planted in 2 substrate conditions (soil and cocopeat) 4 kg each. It was a 3x2 factorial experiment arranged in a completely randomized design with 3 replicates. Data were collected on the agronomic and yield parameters, and analysed using ANOVA, and means were separated using LSD at 5% level of significance. Results obtained showed varied agronomic performances among the genotypes, while the Crimson sweet watermelon produced significantly heavier fruit size (5.38±0.34) compared to the rest genotype. However, the highest number of fruits (2.33±0.22) was obtained in the soil, but the substrate type was insignificant in the average fruit weight. Hence, the hydroponics system is recommended as a complementary alternative to soil farming.

Nutritional evaluation of the peels from Citrullus lanatus and Manihot esculenta, an insight into the conversion of waste to food

Background: Huge quantity of cassava and watermelon wastes are daily discharged to the environment with unwholesome consequences. Therefore, research into the effective utilization of these agricultural by-products is of global interest. Methods: The present study evaluated the proximate, minerals, and amino acid compositions of cassava and watermelon peels using standard procedures. Results: The results revealed that carbohydrate is the most abundant proximate contents of both the cassava (82.14±0.42%) and watermelon (62.58±0.78%) peel, followed by crude fiber (5.51±0.06% and 18.90±0.04%), moisture (8.31±0.04% and 5.20±0.07%), crude ash (1.25±0.03% and 7.25±0.04%) for cassava and watermelon peels respectively, while crude fat (0.98±0.03% and 3.92±0.06%) is the least abundant proximate in both samples. Magnesium is the most abundant mineral contents of both the cassava (79.50±4.45Mg/100g) and watermelon (75.53±3.70Mg/100g) peel, followed by sodium (62.35±0.79 Mg/100g and 52.24±3.24 Mg/100g), potassium (22.12±1.34 and 32.65±2.01 mg/100g) for cassava and watermelon peels respectively while copper (0.73±0.05 Mg/100g and 0.67±0.64 Mg/100g) was the least abundant minerals in both samples. The total amino acid compositions of 66.31±4.56 g/100g and 41.80±2.68 g/100g were recorded for cassava and watermelon peel. Glutamic acid (9.96±0.06g/100g) and leucine (4.03±0.05 mg/100g) the most abundant amino acid in cassava and watermelon seed respectively. Conclusion: In conclusion, the peels of cassava and water melon examined, have appreciable levels of nutrients compositions that can be incorporated into human and animal feed formulation.

Quality Assessment and Food Potentials of Flour Obtained From Sprouted and Non-Sprouted Watermelon Seeds (Citrulus lanatus) and Its Akara Making Potentials

This study formulated different flours from sprouted water melon seed and evaluated the proximate and sensory properties akara-analogue potential in Nigeria. The results showed that proximate composition: moisture (7.06-8.46%), protein (19.14%-37.24%), fibre (0.23-0.36%), fat (22.77-26.58%), ash (2.44-3.47%) and carbohydrate (30.58-41.91%) were significantly different at p<0.05. The bulk density ranged from 0.51-0.53g/ml, solubility index (40.30-40.01%), water absorption capacity (1.21-1.25%), swelling capacity (5.32-6.67%), pH (6.13-6.14); for sprouted and non-sprouted samples. Tannins, saponin, sterols, oxalate and phytate were detected in sprouted and unsprouted flour. Sprouting enhanced the amino acid content of composite flour. Mineral contents of Ca, P, K, Mg, Na, Cu, Zn and Mn were increased due to sprouting. The sensory analysis showed that the control samples have the highest taste score (7.35) and aroma (7.60) and were significantly different at p<0.05. Enhanced amino acid composition of watermelon may enhance the use of this flour as protein supplement for the development of new food product.

QUALITY ATTRIBUTES OF COOKIES PRODUCED FROM THE BLENDS OF SORGHUM, UNRIPE PLANTAIN AND WATERMELON SEED FLOURS

Cookies were produced from the blend of sorghum, unripe plantain and watermelon seed flours at appropriate proportion. The cookies samples were evaluated for proximate, functional, mineral and sensory qualities. Results shows ranged of values in terms of crude protein (12.73 - 13.47%), fat (15.07 - 15.33%), crude fibre (0.47 - 0.81%), ash content (2.71 -5.25%), moisture (5.25 - 6.17%) and carbohydrate (62.09 - 63.56%). The functional properties show that solubility index ranged from 20.10 - 51.55, oil absorption capacity (13.00 - 21.00), water absorption capacity (15.00 – 30.45) swelling capacity (29.00 – 40.50), bulk density (21.50 – 80.57). The values of zinc ranged from 0.08 – 0.14 mg/100g, iron (0.11 - 0.13 mg/100g), calcium (0.11 – 0.13 mg/100g) and phosphorous (0.17 - 0.19mg/100g). Sensory evaluation of the cookies samples showed that 100% wheat flour sample was the most acceptable followed by the 90% “sorghum”, 5% plantain and 5% water melon seed sample. Cookies produced from composite flour of sorghum, unripe plantains and water melon seed flours were found to have high nutritional value that could promotes health and wellbeing of the consumers.

The Food Diversity and Choices of Archachatina Marginata raised in Concrete Trench Pens

Archachatina marginata is an economically useful gastropod, scientifically proven to be of huge benefit to human’s health and wellbeing. Food varieties of A. marginata hunted from the immediate environment of Ovia North East, South-South, Nigeria, were investigated to select the most appropriate, in terms of preferences and availability. The study was conducted for five months (May to August, 2020) during the rainy season. Ten snails were selected from the wild with weights ranging from 340.21g to 355.32g and heights of 11.8cm to 13.3cm at the point of collection. The snails were housed each, in an escape-proof trench pen, covered with wire gauze and nylon net. They were fed with fourteen different types of food materials (water leaves, paw-paw leaves, sweet potato, white -boiled rice, corn powder, ripe paw-paw fruit, cocoyam leaves, millet powder, water melon, cucumber, formulated poultry mash, pineapple, white paper and cabbage). Water melon was very well consumed by all the snails (1323.30g; 66.17%) compared to other food items. The least consumed food items were millet powder (19.99%) and pineapple (20.28%). There was a marked increase in weight and length of the snails as the months progressed, with average length of 15.01 cm and average weight of 501.58g in August, relative to the initial measurements in May.