The experiments were carried out to validate an analytical method and to examine the impact of various decontaminating solutions on the removal of acephate residues from okra. Acephate analysis was performed using HPLC-UV, and sample extraction was done using the QuEChERS method. Method validation encompassed assessing specificity, linearity, precision, accuracy, as well as limits of detection (LOD) and quantification (LOQ). The method exhibited excellent linearity with R² values ≥ 0.99. LOD and LOQ were determined at 0.5 µg mL⁻¹ and 2 µg mL⁻¹, respectively. The results indicated average recoveries ranging from 80.2% to 83.3% with a % RSD below 5%. The decontamination procedures include rinsing with running tap water, soaking in lukewarm water, 2% CH₃COOH, 1% NaCl, 5% NaHCO₃, 0.01% KMnO₄, and in commercially available decontamination products such as nimwash, veggie clean, and arka herbiwash for a duration 10 minutes. Among all the treatments, soaking in nimwash solution showed remarkable effectiveness (96.75% removal), followed by veggie clean (94.97% removal) and arka herbiwash (95.80% removal). Washing okra samples in running tap water was found to be the least effective compared to other treatments.

The melon culture is one of the Brazilian horticultural crops, due to its productive potential and socio-economic role. It is recommended for the State of Goiás and the Federal District for it is easy to plant and having need of zoning of climatic conditions and thus, being able to perform their sowing. The present work used the Sarazon program to perform the water balance of the melon crop, for the 2nd, 4th and 6th five-day sowing dates in August, September and October and in relation to the water reserves in the soil of 50 mm and 75 mm. The data were spatialized using the SPRING 4.3 program. It was observed that the producers are performing in practice what can be demonstrated in theory that the period October 16–20 is the most indicated for sowing in soils of 50 mm of water reserve and October 6–10 the beginning of sowing in soil of 75 mm of water reserve for the cultivation of melon and have adequate profitability.

Highly nutritive and antioxidants-enriched okra (Abelmoschus esculentus) gets sub-optimal field yield due to the irregular germination coupled with non-synchronized harvests. Hence, the research aimed at assessing the combined impact of seed priming and field-level gibberellic acid (GA₃) foliar spray on the yield and post-harvest quality of okra. The lab studies were conducted using a complete randomized design (CRD), while the field trials were performed following a factorial randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replications. Okra seeds were subjected to ten different priming methods to assess their impact on seed germination and seeding vigor. In the premier step, okra seeds were subjected to ten different priming methods, like hydro priming for 6, 12, and 18 h, halo priming with 3% NaCl at 35 ℃, 45 ℃, and 60 ℃, acid priming with 80% H₂SO₄ for 2.5, 5, and 10 min. Based on the observation, hydro priming for 12 h exhibited the best germination rate (90%), followed by halo seed priming at 60 ℃ and acid priming for 5 min. Furthermore, the halo priming at 60 ℃ demonstrated the greatest seedling vigor index (1965), whereas acid priming for 5 min resulted in favorable outcomes in terms of early emergence in 2.66 days. In addition, varying concentrations of GA₃ (0, 100, 200, and 300 ppm) were also administered to the best three primed seedlings for evaluating their field performance. The findings indicated that applying GA₃ at a concentration of 300 ppm to seedlings raised through acid priming (80% H₂SO₄ for 5 min) resulted in improved leaf length, reduced time to flowering (first and 50%) and harvest, increased pod diameter, individual pod weight, and yield per plant (735.16 g). Additionally, the treatment involving GA₃ at 300 ppm with halo priming (3% NaCl) at 60 ℃ exhibited the longest shelf life (21 days) of okra with the lowest levels of rotting (6.73%) and color change (1.12) in the polyethylene storage condition.

One significant importance of street vending in South Africa is its role in providing livelihoods and economic opportunities, especially for marginalized and vulnerable populations. However, Street vendors, particularly those selling agricultural commodities, face numerous challenges. Street vending in Moletjie Mmotong is a vital source of income and employment, offering affordable goods and services, including food, clothing, and household items. One potential solution is online selling, but there is limited knowledge about it in the informal sector. This study aims to analyze the factors affecting street vendors’ willingness to sell fruits and vegetables online in Moletjie Mmotong under Polokwane Municipality. Data was collected from 60 street vendors using a questionnaire and simple random sampling. Descriptive statistics identified and described the socio-economic characteristics of the vendors, while a binary logistic regression model analyzed the factors influencing their willingness to sell online. The study found that age, education level, gender, household size, and access to online selling information significantly influenced their willingness to sell online. The findings highlight the potential benefits of online selling for street vendors, such as increased sales and a broader customer base. The study recommends that governments provide training and workshops on online selling, develop educational programs, distribute educational materials, and create marketing strategies to support street vendors in transitioning to online platforms.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the growth of four lettuce cultivars in Southern Piauí to recommend the best ones for the region. The experiment was conducted in a greenhouse with randomized blocks, with evaluation in subdivided time plots, evaluated in six seasons (20, 24, 28, 32, 36, 40 days after sowing—DAS) and with treatments corresponding to four cultivars (Americana Rafaela^®, Grand Rapids TBR^®, Crespa Repolhuda^® and Repolhuda Todo ano^®) with five repetitions. Leaf area, number of leaves, collar diameter, aboveground fresh mass, aboveground dry mass, root dry mass and total and the physiological indices of growth analysis were evaluated. The lettuce cultivars interfered significantly in the studied parameters, being that Americana Rafaela^® and Repolhuda todo ano^®, in the conditions that they were submitted, presented better performances and bigger morphophysiological indexes, cultivated in pot. The cultivars Americana Rafaela^® and Repolhuda todo ano^® can be produced under the conditions of the south of Piauí.

This research investigates the effects of drying on some selected vegetables, which are Telfaria occidentalis, Amaranthu scruentus, Talinum triangulare, and Crussocephalum biafrae. These vegetables were collected fresh, sliced into smaller sizes of 0.5 cm, and dried in a convective dryer at varying temperatures of 60.0 °C, 70.0 °C and 80.0 °C respectively, for a regulated fan speed of 1.50 ms‒1, 3.00 ms‒1 and 6.00 ms‒1, and for a drying period of 6 hours. It was discovered that the drying rate for fresh samples was 4.560 gmin‒1 for Talinum triangulare, 4.390 gmin‒1for Amaranthu scruentus, 4.580 gmin‒1 for Talinum triangulare, and 4.640 gmin‒1 for Crussocephalum biafrae at different controlled fan speeds and regulated temperatures when the mass of the vegetable samples at each drying time was compared to the mass of the final samples dried for 6 hours. The samples are considered completely dried when the drying time reaches a certain point, as indicated by the drying rate and moisture contents tending to zero. According to drying kinetics, the rate of moisture loss was extremely high during the first two hours of drying and then steadily decreased during the remaining drying duration. The rate at which moisture was removed from the vegetable samples after the drying process at varying regulated temperatures was noted to be in this trend: 80.0 °C > 70.0 °C > 60.0 °C and 6.0 ms‒1 > 3.0 ms‒1 > 1.5 ms‒1 for regulated fan speed. It can be stated here that the moisture contents has significant effects on the drying rate of the samples of vegetables investigated because the drying rate decreases as the regulated temperatures increase and the moisture contents decrease. The present investigation is useful in the agricultural engineering and food engineering industries.