Issah Sugri

CSIR - Council for Scientific and Industrial Research - Ghana · savanna Agric. Research Institute

Field experiments were carried out on Frafra potato (FP) during the 2019 and 2020 cropping seasons at the Manga Agricultural Station, near Bawku, in the Upper East Region of Ghana. The aim of the experiment was to determine the effects of different bed sizes, plant spacing and propagules on the yield and yield components of FP. The experimental des...

Frafra potato (FP) is one of the under-utilized tuber crops but a potentially nutritional food security crop in the Upper Regions of Ghana. Lack of fertilizer recommendation has been one of the causes of low yield of FP on the farmers’ field. During the 2019 and 2020 cropping seasons, a study was conducted at the Manga Station of CSIR-SARI using di...

High postharvest loss is one of the major challenges faced by farmers in many African countries in their efforts to achieve food and nutrition security. Several postharvest techniques have been developed and introduced to farmers aimed at reducing food losses. This study evaluated the economic viability of four such grain storage techniques using c...

Post-harvest losses (PHL) have been identified as a crucial challenge to achieving food and nutrition security in sub-Saharan Africa. Access to reliable data and standardized methods of estimating PHL are a twin barrier to developing long term mitigation options and policies to reduce PHL. This study assessed PHL in 6 districts of the Upper East Re...

Peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) yield and financial returns are often low for smallholder farmers in Ghana. Additionally, aflatoxin concentration in foods derived from peanut can be high enough to adversely affect human health. Eight experiments were conducted in 2016 and 2017 in northern Ghana to compare yield, financial returns, pest reaction, and a...

Sweet potato is now classified among the high-priority crops targeted at reducing food insecurity and malnutrition in many countries. Despite this growing interest, high postharvest losses caused by poor handling, physiological weight loss, sprouting, weevil (Cylas spp.) damage and microbial decay remain a challenge. Decay losses due to tip rot and...

Aphids (Aphis craccivora Koch) are an important vegetative stage pest of cowpea in Africa. The use of resistant cultivars is among the best management option for this pest, but the success of this strategy is influenced by the stability of the resistant genotype to the cowpea aphid biotypes present in the major cowpea growing areas in a country. Th...

Curing is a low-cost technique which has been explored to improve the postharvest quality of sweet potato. This study evaluated the effect of in-ground curing by dehaulming on certain compositional and shelf-life characteristics of four cultivars (Asamarig, Apomuden, Kuffour and Tuskegee purple). Dehaulming was done by pruning the vegetative canopi...

Insecticide application is the recommended practice for control of insect pests on cowpea (Vigna unquiculata (L) Walp). However, these have negative effects on humans and the environment, apart from being costly for resource-poor farmers. This study aimed at identifying appropriate combinations of cultivar and insecticide spraying times for the man...

The utility of combining simple sequence repeat (SSR) and single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) marker genotyping was determined for genetically mapping a novel aphid (Aphis craccivora) resistance locus in cowpea breeding line SARC 1-57-2 and for introgressing the resistance into elite cultivars by marker-assisted backcrossing (MABC). The locus was...

Sweet potato has gained prominence due to its ability to adapt to wide production ecologies and yield response to minimal external inputs. Orange-fleshed cultivars in particular have immense potential to improve household income and nutrition in sub-Saharan Africa. However, the sweet potato value chain (SPVC) is not well-developed in many producing...

Aflatoxins contamination in peanut seeds remains a major challenge in Ghana. This study evaluated aflatoxin levels in peanut samples from farmer storage units, and participatory on-farm research trials. In all, 240 respondents were covered from six main producing districts in northern Ghana through a multi-stage sampling approach. Samples were anal...

A significant quantity of white yam (Dioscorea rotundata, Poir) gets deteriorated soon after harvest through sprouting, weight loss and development of soft spots; a major concern to farmers and other actors within the yam value chain in West Africa. We studied the effect of using shea butter and palm kernel cream as postharvest coatings to improve...

Declining maize (Zea mays L.) yields caused by factors, such as inherently poor soils, continuous cropping of cereal after cereal, high cost and unavailability of chemical fertilizers, continuous crop-residue removal, and soil erosion and run-off, have all contributed to low soil fertility and reduced maize yields in northern Ghana. To address this...

The production and utilization of maize have increased tremendously across all regions of Ghana in recent times. However, aflatoxin (AF) contamination in grain maize has remained a critical food safety concern. The study was conducted in 6 districts in the Upper East and Upper West regions of Ghana to assess farmers' knowledge on AF, and determine...

This study was aimed at producing healthy yam tubers as a step towards extending its shelf-life using a participatory research programme. Four pre-planting treatments of yam setts in combination with two post-planting treatments were evaluated. These treatment combinations were evaluated in integration with best agricultural practices such as site...

Though several maize {Zea mays) varieties and hybrids have been developed over the last three decades in Ghana, farmers still face challenges of access to quality seed. This study examined the influence of current seed programme of maize and suggests interventions to ameliorate the constraints of farmers in relation to seed security. The research t...

Frafra potato (Solenostemon rotundifolius Poir.)is one underutilized crop species which is critical to improving food security in the Upper East and Upper West Regions of Ghana. Food dishes of Frafra potato (FP) are a delicacy particularly for children. The tubers have high marketing potential even compared with its counterpart, sweet potato. Howev...

To address the poor seed viability problem of pearl millet in Ghana, the influences of time of harvesting, some seed physical characteristic and moisture content relations on viability were evaluated. Harvesting was done on day 1,3, 5, 7 and 14 from the physiological maturity or the hard-dough stage. The seeds were also fractionated into <2, >2 and...

Plantains are an important cash and subsistence crop for the small-scale producers all year round in most parts of the tropical world including Ghana. Unfortunately, the plantain industry is still characterised by high post-harvest losses. Given that plantains are still used in the fresh state, any intervention aimed at reducing the losses must hav...

Over the last few years, the production of plantain has been increasing due to the introduction of some high yielding varieties. Unfortunately, very high post-harvest losses are incurred annually due to lack of appropriate storage technologies. This study evaluated the effect of shea butter as a food-grade wax on the pre-climacteric life and sensor...