SUNDAY 5 AUGUST, 2018 – UWI TODAY
5
CAMPUS NEWS
A limequat!
I didn’t know what a limequat was, never
heard the name and though I instinctively broke it down
into something related to limes and kumquats, I didn’t
know how it should be pronounced. Thanks to Google,
I was able to find out that it is in fact a hybrid between
a kumquat and a key lime, and it does look like a lime.
So why was I trying to figure out what a limequat
is? Well, it wasn’t for a recipe, It was because I was just
looking through the journal, “Tropical Agriculture,”
which had something of a relaunch on July 23.
It was actually founded in 1924, three years after the
Imperial College of Tropical Agriculture was formed, and
it has kept going through all the transitions that have led
to the adulthood of The UWI as an institution.
This is Volume 95 Special Issue 1, the first online
edition and it is a collection of the papers on the research
findings from the project, Enhanced Preservation of
Fruits Using Nanotechnology. This project was funded
by the Canadian International Food Security Research
Fund and included researchers from the University
of Guelph, Canada (leader); Tamil Nadu Agricultural
University, India; Industrial Technology Institute, Sri
Lanka; University of Nairobi, Kenya; Sokoine University
of Agriculture, Tanzania; and The UWI.
So the abstracts are practically segmented by fruit
variety as they look at different ways to extend shelf-life
and what are the factors affecting them. There were
studies using a veritable fruit salad as subjects – bananas,
papayas, oranges, limequats, mangoes – looking at
specifics like “the effects of pre-harvest application of
hexanal formulations on time to ripening.”
I had to look up hexanal, which is used in the flavor
industry to produce fruity flavours, and it smells like
freshly cut grass. According toWikipedia, it is potentially
useful as a natural extract that prevents fruit spoilage.
And I guess that’s what the researchers were exploring.
They also spoke about Senescence, which I looked
up as well. When I found the meaning I shook my
head in sad recognition: it is the condition or process
of deterioration with age. (Maybe researchers will find
something to slow that down in humans too.)
But even if you are not an academic, or not an
agriculturist, and just someone interested in regional
development or learning something new, the journal is
worth scanning.
On the Tropical Agriculture website, it declares
that it was established to publish the results of original
research on aspects of agriculture that would lead
to greater productivity and sustainability in tropical
regions.
Has it kept to that objective?
Click here and find out!
?
action=viewIssue&issueId=730
(Vaneisa Baksh)
Tropical Agriculture still has the edge at 94
Dean of the Faculty of Food and Agriculture, Dr. Wayne Ganpat tells guests about the vision for food security at the launch of the special online
issue of the journal, “Tropical Agriculture.” At the head table from left are Dr. Lynda Wickham, Principal Investigator and Editor in Chief of the
Journal; Professor Emeritus Julian Duncan, Editor in Chief, Tropical Agriculture Special Issue; Professor Jayasankar Subramanian, leader of the
project, Enhanced Preservation of Fruits Using Nanotechnology; and Carla Hogan Rufelds, the Canadian High Commissioner to Trinidad and
Tobago.
PHOTO: ANEEL KARIM
A limequat: a hybrid between a key lime and a kumquat.
Pre-Science (N1) Programme 2018/2019
Faculty of Science and Technology
1 year | September 2018
• Combine with any of the following:
Mathematics, Physics, Biology and Chemistry
• Sign up as an alternative to 6th form or to improve your CAPE
or A-Level qualifications.
• On completion, apply to pursue a full degree in Science & Technology,
Engineering, Food & Agriculture, etc.*
For further information or to download the application form, visit
Or contact:
T: 662 2002 exts 84505 / 84478 / 84474
E:
APPLICATION DEADLINE: AUGUST 24, 2018
New Option –
COMPUTER SCIENCE
*Conditions apply
