SCHOLARS SCITECH RESEARCH ORGANIZATION Scholars Journal

ISSN: 2456-6527 [email protected]

Online Publication Date: September 30, 2018

Volume 3, No. 2

SCHOLARS SCITECH RESEARCH ORGANIZATION Scholars Journal of Research in Agriculture and Biology www.scischolars.com

Does the Improvement of Fruit Characteristics through Pollination Meet Community Preferences? TONI Hermann1 *, DJOSSA Bruno1,2 , TEKA Oscar1 , YEDOMONHAN Hounnankpon3 1 Laboratoire 2 Laboratoire

d’Ecologie Appliquée, Faculté des Sciences Agronomiques, Université d’Abomey -Calavi, Bénin de Foresterie et de Conservation des Bioressources (LaFCBio), Ecole de Foresterie Tropicale, Université Nationale d’Agriculture, Benin. 3 Faculté des Sciences et Techniques, Université d’Abomey-Calavi, Bénin. *Corresponding author: E-mail: [email protected], Tel: +229 97744466.

Abstract Pollination is an important ecosystem service provided by a large array of biotic agents. This service improves the nutritional and physical characteristics of fruits. Both farmers and consumers search some characteristics on crops they grow or select for food. This study aims at identifying fruit characteristics improved through pollination that meet preferred characteristics of consumers in southern Benin. Four crops relying on pollination services and of economic importance such as tomato, cowpea, okra and watermelon were selected for this purpose. The fruit characteristics improved by pollination were identified in 22 scientific papers published on the pollination of targeted crops. Preferred characteristics required by consumers were surveyed on 799 farmers comprising: 79 watermelon growers, 208 okra growers, 255 tomato growers and 257 cowpea growers in the southern Benin. Farmers were selected in reputed production zones. Results revealed that farmers, based on consumers` preferences, want tomato fruits that are large (82.74%), mature (43.92%) and of firm skin (38.4%). For the cowpea, they look for large number of grains per pod (57.58%), long pods (20.62%) and large seeds (13.6%). For watermelon, farmers want large or at least medium size fruits (83.54% and 55.69%), heavy or medium weight fruits (77.21% and 65.82%) and fruits of high sugar contents (59.49%). Finally for okra, short fruits (83.65%) that are not too large (medium width) (85.09%) were preferred. All these preferred characteristics in these different crops are all influenced/improved by pollination services. We concluded in the necessary of better valuing pollination services in producing these crops to ameliorate income generating for farmers as well as improving food security in Benin. All these will result in the long term conservation of pollinators in Benin. Keywords: Benin; Consumer preferences; Crops; Pollinators; Ecosystem services. 1. Introduction Pollination is a crucial process in plant reproduction. It is an ecosystem service provided by several biotic and abiotic agents. Biotic agents are the main pollinators of flowering plants. More than 80% of flowering plants depends on animals for their pollination (Kevan and Imperatriz-Fonseca, 2002; FAO, 2009). These include a large array of animals including bees, chiropters, ants, flies, etc. The pollination services provided by these biotic agents contribute to improve yields as well as crop quality (Anita et al., 2012; Karanja et al., 2013; Klatt et al., 2014). Indeed, pollinators improve several physical characteristics of fruits (weight, length, diameter, volume) and therefore increase yields. They also improve the nutritional quality of some crops (Moses et al., 2005; Hogendoorn et al., 2010).

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Preferences criteria of agricultural products differ according to ethnic groups and regions. For instance, in West Africa, farmers of Nigeria, Mali and Niger have different attributes to appreciate groundnut (Arachis hypogaea) varieties (Ndjeunga et al., 2010). Besides, differences were also reported between preferences of the same attribute according to regions and likely ethnic groups. In Nigeria, 65.9% of the respondents prefer medium-sized watermelon, 29.4 the large fruits and 13.7% the small ones (Adeoye, 2012). These differences in preferences lead to a difference in the need of improved varieties. In Nigeria, farmers of Southwest expressed a need for cassava that controls weeds while farmers of the North need cassava that resists mealy bugs. In the South-South, farmers need varieties that tolerate poor soil (Bentley et al., 2017). These needs of framers should be taken into account to avoid dis -adoption or abandon of new varieties (Ghimire et al., 2015). Difference in preferences has also been reported in agricultural by-products. Preferences for certain textiles differ between three ethnic groups, Chinese preferred texture, the Hawaiian preferred the scent and Caucasian preferred both (Lin and Sun, 2018). Preferences of consumers should be considered by farmers to ensure the trading of their production (Weinberger and Msuya, 2004). Differences reported in crop characteristics preference suggest that pollinators could improve crop characteristics that consumers may desire or not. Awareness and advocacy for pollinator conservation rely heavily on the usefulness of services provided by these agents, mainly if they are well known to farmers. To obtain the commitment of the populations to act for conservation of pollinators, it is then important to know if the services delivered by them are of interest for farmers and thereby for consumers. This study was carried out to identify characteristics preferred by consumers on okra (Abelmoschus esculentus), tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum), watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) and cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) in communities living in southern Benin and assess if these characteristics are improved through pollination. These four crops are selected due to their dependence on pollination services and they are widely produced by farmers in this region of Benin (Klein et al., 2007, INSAE, 2012) for different reasons .

2. Methodology We reviewed literature to collect from previous studies crop characteristics that are improved through pollination services. A total of 22 scientific papers were studied on pollination o f tomato (10), cowpea (04), okra (05) and watermelon (03). Major characteristics of crops/fruits that were reported as improved with pollination services were collected. Based on this information, a questionnaire have been elaborated and used to interview farmers that cultivate tomato, cowpea, okra and watermelon. This survey has been conducted in the main production zone of studied crops in southern Benin ( PADAP, 2003; Assogba-Komlan et al., 2007). Thus, farmers were selected randomly sampled and interviewed in the districts of Adjohoun, Bonou, Dangbo, Semè-Kpodji, Cotonou, Kétou and Ouidah (figure 1). Extension services of these districts were contacted in order to identify prominent farmers` villages. A total of 79 watermelon growers (70 males and 9 females), 255 tomato growers (209 males and 46 females), 208 okra growers (181 males and 27 females) and 257cowpea growers (230 males and 27 females) were interviewed. The number of interviewees per district depends on the importance of the selected crop within the district. Interviewed farmers age ranged from 18 to 70 years old. They were interviewed individually using semi-structured questionnaire. Socio-demographic characteristics of interviewees (age, sex, ethnic group, main activity) were documented as well as crop characteristics they prefer due to market/consumer needs. Each fruit characteristics were quoted as low, medium and high to make answers easy to respondents (Adeoye and Balogun, 2012). Data collected were computed in an Excel sheet and percentage calculated for each of preferred characteristic. Results were used to draw bar charts for easy information reading purpose. Difference in ethnic group preference of characteristics for each crop was assessed by running Correspondence Analysis in R (package FactoMineR).

Figure 1: Situation of the studied districts in southern Benin


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3. Results 3.1- Reported Fruit Characteristics Improved through Pollination Pollination improved several characteristics of fruit of watermelon, okra, cowpea and tomato (table 1). Studied papers focused mainly pollination effects on fruits characteristics and few papers reported on nutritional characteristics of fruits . Weight of fruits and the seed numbers of all selected crops were improved through pollination services according to studied papers. Table 1: Fruits characteristics improved through pollination Crops Tomato

Cowpea

Okra

Watermelon

Improved characteristics

References

Weight

Bell et al., 2006 ; Bispo dos Santos et al., 2009; MaciasMacias et al., 2009; Amala and Shivalingaswamy, 2017

Number of seeds/fruit

Al-Attal et al., 2003 ; Bell et al., 2006 ; Nunes-Silva et al., 2013 ; Deprá et al., 2014 ; Vinícius et al., 2017

Volume

Al-Attal et al., 2003; Bispo dos Santos et al., 2009 ; Vergara and Fonseca-Buendía, 2012 ; Torres-Ruiz and Jones, 2012

Diameter

Morandin et al., 2001 ; Bell et al., 2006

Roundness

Bell et al., 2006

Height

Vergara and Fonseca-Buendía, 2012

Firmness

Al-Attal et al., 2003

Taste /flavour

Hogendoorn et al., 2010

Seed/pod

Tchuenguem Fohouo et al., 2009 ; Pando et al., 2013 ; Pando et al., 2014 ; Kengni et al., 2015

Normal/healthy seeds

Tchuenguem Fohouo et al., 2009 ; Pando et al., 2013 ; Pando et al., 2014 ; Kengni et al., 2015

Pod length

Tchuenguem Fohouo et al., 2009

Pod weight

Tchuenguem Fohouo et al., 2009

Fruit weight

Mishra et al., 1987 ; Azo’o et al., 2017

Fruit length

Mishra et al., 1987 ; Al-Ghzawi et al., 2003 ; Azo’o et al., 2011 ; Azo’o et al., 2017

Number of seeds/pod

Mishra et al., 1987 ; Al-Ghzawi et al., 2003 ; Azo’o et al., 2011 ; Azo’o et al., 2017

Nitrogen and carbon

Moses et al., 2005

Seed set/ Number of seeds

Stanghellini et al., 1998 ; Taha and Bayoumi, 2009 ; Azo’o et al., 2010

Fruit set (weight)

Taha and Bayoumi, 2009 ; Azo’o et al., 2010


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3.2- Preferred Characteristics of Tomato in Southern Benin Preference of tomato fruit characteristics declared by farmers are presented as followed (figure 2)

Figure 2: Preferred tomato fruit characteristics by farmers Four characteristics of tomato fruits were searched by farmers due to the market/consumers’ needs or frequently expressed while selling tomato fruits (figure 1). Fruit size (volume) and fruit colour (43.92%) and skin firmness (38.4%) were respectively searched by farmers. Large fruits are by far preferred (82.74%) while small fruits were even not mentioned. It is easy to notice that fruit size (volume) was much preferred in detriment to fruit weight or these two characteristics were not easy to distinguish by farmers. The preferred tomato fruit characteristics by ethnic groups are presented in figure 3 below.

Figure 3: Preferred tomato fruits characteristics in ethnic groups (Legend: ColourMed= Colour Medium; VolumHig= Volume High; VolumMed= Volume Medium; FirmnesHig= Firmness High; WeigtHig= Weigh High; WeigtMed= Weight Medium) Based on the Factorial Correspondence Analysis results, ethnic groups behaved differently. Ouémènou, Hwla, Yoruba and Goun better value fruit physical (skin firmness) and visual (colour) presentation while Adja, Mahi, Fon and Holli value more biomass (volume and weight).


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3.3- Preferred Characteristics of Cowpea in Southern Benin Preferences of cowpea fruit characteristics declared by farmers are presented in figure 4 bellow.

Figure 4: Preferred cowpea fruit characteristics by farmers The number of seed per pod (57.58%) and pod’s length (20.62%) were most important for farmers certainly to get high biomass. According to ethnic group signature in characteristics preferences, results are showed in figure followed (figure 5).

Figure 5: Preferred cowpea fruits characteristics in ethnic groups (Legend: NumbSeedHig = Number of Seeds High; SeedSizeHig= Seed Size High; PodLengHig=Pod Length High) Farmers interviewed in all ethnic groups prefer high seed number, seed size and long pods in cowpea production. Only Ouemenou doesn’t stress too much on pod’s length.


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3.4- Preferred Characteristics of Okra in Southern Benin Okra fruit characteristics searched by farmers are presented as followed (figure 6).

Figure 6: Preferred okra fruit characteristics by farmers Farmers valued medium (85.09%) and small size (83.65%) pods in okra production. They also preferred pods with less lignin and so few don’t mind pods with lignification (4.35%) obviously for consumption purposes easiness. Farmers, in this crop didn’t target biomass. Preferred okra fruits characteristics in ethnic groups of interviewed farmers are presented in figure 7.

Figure 7: Preferred okra fruits characteristics in ethnic groups (Legend: WeigLow= Weight Low; WeigMed= Weight Medium; WidLow=Width Low; WidMed= Width Medium; WidHig= Width High; LengLow= Length Low; LengHig= Length High; LignifLow= Lignification Low) Based on the Factorial Correspondence Analysis results, ethnic groups behaved differently. Ouémènou and Mahi peoples valued pods of small sizes (low length, width and weight) while Holli peoples cared pod sizes and Fon, Goun and Adja preferred bigger pods (high length and width) and all these this last two ethnic groups expressed preference to less lignifie d pods.

3.5- Preferred Characteristics of Watermelon in Southern Benin Preference of watermelon fruit characteristics declared by farmers are presented as followed (figure 8)


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Figure 8: Preferred watermelon fruit characteristics by farmers Four characteristics of watermelon fruits are searched by farmers to satisfy consumers’ preferences. They preferably searched medium and large fruits (83.54% and 55.69%) that are moderately or truly heavy (77.21% and 65.82%). They also searched high sugar content fruits (59.49%) and didn’t care of flesh colour (8.86%). Watermelon fruits characteristics searched by farmers of different ethnic groups is presented in figure 9 bellow.

Figure 9: Preferred watermelon fruits characteristics in ethnic groups (Legend: ColourMed= Colour Medium; SweetMedium= Sweetness Medium; SweetHigh= Sweetness High; WeightMedium= Weight Medium; WeigHigh= Weight High; VolumMedium= Volume Medium; VolumHigh= Volume Medium) Almost all ethnic groups surveyed preferred large, heavy and sweet watermelon. Only Goun peoples stand between very and moderately sweet fruits.

4. Discussion Pollination activities on tomato, cowpea, okra and watermelon were known to improve several fruits characteristics. Indeed, pollination improves the biomass of fruits through fruit weight, the number of seeds per fruit and fruit size (volume, diameter or length) (Taha and Bayoumi, 2009; Tchuenguem Fohouo et al., 2009; Amala and Shivalingaswamy, 2017; Azo’o et al., 2017). Pollinators also improved the nutritional quality of okra increasing the carbon and nitrogen in seeds


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(Moses et al., 2005). It was reported that they also improved the taste/flavour of tomatoes (Hogendoorn et al., 2010). The contribution of pollinators to fruit quality depends on the efficiency of pollinators. A comparative study of pollination efficiency of Bombus impatiens and Nannotrigona perilampoides revealed that the first one improved more the fruit weight and seed number of tomato (Palma et al., 2008). Similar results have also been reported for watermelon, in which Bombus impatiens was more efficient than Apis mellifera (Stanghellini et al., 1998). Several characteristics improved by pollinators were mentioned by farmers in our survey. Farmers and therefore consumers appreciate the quality of crops as reported by Mishili et al. (2009) for cowpea (Vigna unguiculata). For tomatoes (Lycopersicon esculentum), the fruit size (volume and weight) was the main preferred characteristics. Indeed consumers prefer large fruits of tomatoes, but when they do not have enough financial resources they buy medium sized fruits. This behaviour was observed with small buyers. Larger buyers or wholesalers buy tomatoes piled in baskets, so they generally pay attention to tomato fruit’s skin firmness and the maturity stage (colour) as they have to transport products far from production zones. They preference of skin firmness allow, a part from transportation relative long term storage that help to sell products on good prices. Apparent low interest to fruit weight is probably due to lack of weighting habits in selling products on informal business. The fruit size and firmness were also mentioned as preferred characteristics of tomatoes consumers in Ghana (Osei et al., 2018). Ethnic differences were noticed between preference characteristics in this country. Research works demonstrated that pollinators improved the volume (Vergara and Fonseca-Buendía, 2012 ; Torres-Ruiz and Jones, 2012 ; Amala and Shivalingaswamy, 2017) and the weight (Bispo dos Santos et al., 2009; Macias-Macias et al., 2009 ; Amala and Shivalingaswamy, 2017) of tomatoes. The positive correlation between the mass (weight) and the diameter of tomatoes (Taheri-Garavand, 2011) could imply that consumers look indirectly for fru its with big diameter. For the cowpea (Vigna unguiculata), farmers prefer fruits/pods containing numerous grains and long pods. They also like better large grains. The preference for long pods could be due to the sought of numerous grains because a strong positive correlation was established between these parameters (Meena et al., 2015). Pollinators of cowpea increased the number of seeds/grains per pod (Pando et al., 2013, Pando et al., 2014; Kengni et al., 2015 ) and the length of pods (Tchuenguem Fohouo et al., 2009). It was shown that pollinators increased the proportion of healthy seeds in pods (Tchuenguem Fohouo et al., 2009; Kengni et al., 2015). This could contribute to an increase of grain size and thereby biomasses as appreciated by consumers. Mishili et al. (2009) and Mundua (2003) have also noticed that consumers of Ghana, Mali, Nigeria and Uganda preferred large cowpea grains. Other preferred characteristics such as skin colour and texture, and cowpea’s eye colour depend with varieties. In contrast to our results, the aforementioned studies did not reported consumer preferences for seed number per pods and pod length. This difference is due to the fact that cowpea grains are generally removed from the pods before selling even if some farmers sell grains with pods. In the frame of our study, cowpea growers were questioned about preferred characteristics if they were to sell cowpea with pods and without pods. As far as okra (Abelmoschus esculentus) is concerned, farmers expressed preferences for fruits of small and median size to satisfy consumers’ needs. Consumers prefer small sized and light okra pods probably because large and heavy fruits are likely to carry more lignin that make the fruit less easy cutting, cooking and eating. Then several cons umers first check okra pods quit tender to buy. Only communities that eat dried pods don’t care too much for lignin in pods. Pollinators increased pod size (weight and length) while consumers prefers pods of small size to avoid fibrous fruits. Previous stu dies (Mishra, 1987; Azo’o et al., 2017) reported that okra pods harvested 8 days and two weeks after flower appearance when they showed that pollinators improved okra length and weight. Based on this finding, it will be interesting to investigate possible effect of pollination by animals/insects on fibre/lignin content of pods at the edible stage. As in general, farmers and consumers in the study region prefer very fresh okra pods, the risk of having pod full of lignin is low. For watermelon, Beninese farmers have preferences for large (volume) and heavy fruits according to our survey. Watermelons are piled in groups of 40 fruits for sale depending on their size. Consumers or wholesalers buy preferably piles of large fruits and secondly piles of medium-sized fruits. The flesh sweetness and the flesh colour of fruits are also controlled by buyers. The flesh colour is an indicator of the fruit maturity for consumers. For this purpose, one or two sample fruits are split for a taste test and the flesh colour observation at the selling places. The flesh colour should be light red; flesh of dark red colour or with dark blotches ones are over-ripe. The flesh colour of all produced varieties reported in the study area is red at the maturity. The fruit maturity is also controlled by observing if the peduncle dried out and of yellowish colour. Sometimes consumers or buyers remove unripe fruits. The fruit size and the flesh sweetness were also considered as preference characteristics of melon in United States (Lester, 2006) and in Nigeria (Adeoye and Balogun, 2012). The volume and the weight are the two characteristics mentioned by consumers and they are improved by pollinators (Stanghellini et al., 1998; Taha and Bayoumi, 2009; Azo’o et al., 2010). The effect of pollinators on the flesh colour and fresh sweetness is not reported in papers we consulted. But it likely to be the case even if one can imagine that the water content may also play important role in the sweetness. Farmers and their ethnic groups’ efforts to adhere to consumers’ fruits/pods characteristics preferences is likely to motivate farmers to agree on the conservation of pollinators if they are aware of the pollinators’ important roles in crops yield and quality improvements. Moreover, it is necessary to explain to farmers, the crucial role of pollinators transporting pollen grains from anthers to stigmas in sufficient number to permit the fruit set (Lima et al., 2003; Azo’o et al., 2017) as non sufficient number of fecundation lead to fruit abortion.


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Improvement of the different fruit characteristics combined with better fruiting rate due to pollinator’s intervention (Taha and Bayoumi, 2009; Torres-Ruiz and Jones, 2012) lead to an increase of fruit set (Tchuenguem Fohouo et al., 2009; Taha and Bayoumi, 2009; Azo’o et al., 2011). The positive effects of pollinators on fruits quality increase the commercial value of crops (Klatt et al., 2014). The economic value of pollination services provided by pollinators worldwide was estimated to €153 billion (Gallai et al., 2009). Pollinators also have a significant contribution to the economy of African countries (Kasina, 2007; Toni et al., 2015). All these information will help getting strong commitment of farmers in pollinator’s conservation and this will benefit to both wild and cultivated plants and thereby to food security.

5. Conclusion Tomatoes, cowpea, okra and watermelon are mainly pollinated by insects, especially wild bees. Pollination activities improve several physical and nutritional characteristics of these crops. Consumers of southern Benin expressed several preferred fruits characteristics that vary according to ethnic groups. Several characteristics improved by pollinators match with the preference characteristics of consumers. This correspondence between the preferred characteristics and those improved by pollinators could be exploited to explain the importance of pollinators in crop production to farmers in order to get their attention for pollinator conservation.

6. Acknowledgements We thank Mr. AVOHOU Pascal for its useful help during the survey and farmers for their collaboration.

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