Marketability of Value-added Pumpkin (<i>Cucurbita moschata</i> Duch.) Fruit in a Representative Peri-urban Kenyan Market

Jedidah Wanjiku Kiharason; Dorcas Khasungu Isutsa

doi:doi:10.11648/j.ijfsb.20190401.12

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Marketability of Value-added Pumpkin (Cucurbita moschata Duch.) Fruit in a Representative Peri-urban Kenyan Market

Jedidah Wanjiku Kiharason, Dorcas Khasungu Isutsa

Published in International Journal of Food Science and Biotechnology (Volume 4, Issue 1)

Received: 20 January 2019 Accepted: 27 February 2019 Published: 19 March 2019

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Abstract

Pumpkin (C. moschata Duch.) fruit is a highly nutritious horticultural crop with great potential for commercialization. However, in Kenya many households do not buy and utilize pumpkins regularly, leading to low demand. These scenarios increase post-harvest losses and provide no incentive for farmers to increase production in Kenya, which has an abundance of pumpkin landraces that unfortunately remain under-exploited and under-utilized. Their distribution and marketing is a great challenge due to easy perishability. Horticultural crops experience losses in quality and quantity in between harvest and consumption. The magnitude of post-harvest losses in fresh fruits and vegetables is estimated to range from 20% to 50% in developing countries. The present study determined marketability of fresh fruit, and the spoilage rate of fresh fruit in the various presentation formats (eighth, quarter and half slices and a control of whole fruit either wrapped or not with cling film). Selling was facilitated by four market women in Nyeri County of Kenya. Statistical analysis showed significant differences (P<0.05) in number of spoilt pieces over time, and between number of days to spoilage of whole fruit, compared to slice fruit. More quarter and half slices got spoiled after a few days of presentation to buyers. Nonetheless, quarter slices had the highest (54.5%) pieces sold, while half slices had the fewest (9.8%) pieces sold. However, no significant differences occurred in average number of pieces sold, or in amount of money from sale of fruit pieces of different presentation formats. Most consumers preferred buying smaller slices. Therefore, adoption and promotion of pumpkin presentation formats that effectively increase shelf-life is recommended to enhance production and utilization in Kenya.

Published in	International Journal of Food Science and Biotechnology (Volume 4, Issue 1)
DOI	10.11648/j.ijfsb.20190401.12
Page(s)	7-13
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Pumpkin, Sale, Fruit, Post-harvest, Spoilage, Presentation Format

References

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APA Style

Jedidah Wanjiku Kiharason, Dorcas Khasungu Isutsa. (2019). Marketability of Value-added Pumpkin (Cucurbita moschata Duch.) Fruit in a Representative Peri-urban Kenyan Market. International Journal of Food Science and Biotechnology, 4(1), 7-13. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijfsb.20190401.12

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ACS Style

Jedidah Wanjiku Kiharason; Dorcas Khasungu Isutsa. Marketability of Value-added Pumpkin (Cucurbita moschata Duch.) Fruit in a Representative Peri-urban Kenyan Market. Int. J. Food Sci. Biotechnol. 2019, 4(1), 7-13. doi: 10.11648/j.ijfsb.20190401.12

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AMA Style

Jedidah Wanjiku Kiharason, Dorcas Khasungu Isutsa. Marketability of Value-added Pumpkin (Cucurbita moschata Duch.) Fruit in a Representative Peri-urban Kenyan Market. Int J Food Sci Biotechnol. 2019;4(1):7-13. doi: 10.11648/j.ijfsb.20190401.12

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@article{10.11648/j.ijfsb.20190401.12,
  author = {Jedidah Wanjiku Kiharason and Dorcas Khasungu Isutsa},
  title = {Marketability of Value-added Pumpkin (Cucurbita moschata Duch.) Fruit in a Representative Peri-urban Kenyan Market},
  journal = {International Journal of Food Science and Biotechnology},
  volume = {4},
  number = {1},
  pages = {7-13},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ijfsb.20190401.12},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijfsb.20190401.12},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijfsb.20190401.12},
  abstract = {Pumpkin (C. moschata Duch.) fruit is a highly nutritious horticultural crop with great potential for commercialization. However, in Kenya many households do not buy and utilize pumpkins regularly, leading to low demand. These scenarios increase post-harvest losses and provide no incentive for farmers to increase production in Kenya, which has an abundance of pumpkin landraces that unfortunately remain under-exploited and under-utilized. Their distribution and marketing is a great challenge due to easy perishability. Horticultural crops experience losses in quality and quantity in between harvest and consumption. The magnitude of post-harvest losses in fresh fruits and vegetables is estimated to range from 20% to 50% in developing countries. The present study determined marketability of fresh fruit, and the spoilage rate of fresh fruit in the various presentation formats (eighth, quarter and half slices and a control of whole fruit either wrapped or not with cling film). Selling was facilitated by four market women in Nyeri County of Kenya. Statistical analysis showed significant differences (P<0.05) in number of spoilt pieces over time, and between number of days to spoilage of whole fruit, compared to slice fruit. More quarter and half slices got spoiled after a few days of presentation to buyers. Nonetheless, quarter slices had the highest (54.5%) pieces sold, while half slices had the fewest (9.8%) pieces sold. However, no significant differences occurred in average number of pieces sold, or in amount of money from sale of fruit pieces of different presentation formats. Most consumers preferred buying smaller slices. Therefore, adoption and promotion of pumpkin presentation formats that effectively increase shelf-life is recommended to enhance production and utilization in Kenya.},
 year = {2019}
}

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TY - JOUR
T1 - Marketability of Value-added Pumpkin (Cucurbita moschata Duch.) Fruit in a Representative Peri-urban Kenyan Market
AU - Jedidah Wanjiku Kiharason
AU - Dorcas Khasungu Isutsa
Y1 - 2019/03/19
PY - 2019
N1 - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijfsb.20190401.12
DO - 10.11648/j.ijfsb.20190401.12
T2 - International Journal of Food Science and Biotechnology
JF - International Journal of Food Science and Biotechnology
JO - International Journal of Food Science and Biotechnology
SP - 7
EP - 13
PB - Science Publishing Group
SN - 2578-9643
UR - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijfsb.20190401.12
AB - Pumpkin (C. moschata Duch.) fruit is a highly nutritious horticultural crop with great potential for commercialization. However, in Kenya many households do not buy and utilize pumpkins regularly, leading to low demand. These scenarios increase post-harvest losses and provide no incentive for farmers to increase production in Kenya, which has an abundance of pumpkin landraces that unfortunately remain under-exploited and under-utilized. Their distribution and marketing is a great challenge due to easy perishability. Horticultural crops experience losses in quality and quantity in between harvest and consumption. The magnitude of post-harvest losses in fresh fruits and vegetables is estimated to range from 20% to 50% in developing countries. The present study determined marketability of fresh fruit, and the spoilage rate of fresh fruit in the various presentation formats (eighth, quarter and half slices and a control of whole fruit either wrapped or not with cling film). Selling was facilitated by four market women in Nyeri County of Kenya. Statistical analysis showed significant differences (P<0.05) in number of spoilt pieces over time, and between number of days to spoilage of whole fruit, compared to slice fruit. More quarter and half slices got spoiled after a few days of presentation to buyers. Nonetheless, quarter slices had the highest (54.5%) pieces sold, while half slices had the fewest (9.8%) pieces sold. However, no significant differences occurred in average number of pieces sold, or in amount of money from sale of fruit pieces of different presentation formats. Most consumers preferred buying smaller slices. Therefore, adoption and promotion of pumpkin presentation formats that effectively increase shelf-life is recommended to enhance production and utilization in Kenya.
VL - 4
IS - 1
ER -

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Author Information

Jedidah Wanjiku Kiharason

Department of Environmental Studies and Resources Development, Chuka University, Chuka, Kenya
Dorcas Khasungu Isutsa

Department of Plant Sciences, Chuka University, Chuka, Kenya, and Department of Horticulture, Egerton University, Egerton, Kenya

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Jedidah Wanjiku Kiharason, Dorcas Khasungu Isutsa. (2019). Marketability of Value-added Pumpkin (Cucurbita moschata Duch.) Fruit in a Representative Peri-urban Kenyan Market. International Journal of Food Science and Biotechnology, 4(1), 7-13. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijfsb.20190401.12

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ACS Style

Jedidah Wanjiku Kiharason; Dorcas Khasungu Isutsa. Marketability of Value-added Pumpkin (Cucurbita moschata Duch.) Fruit in a Representative Peri-urban Kenyan Market. Int. J. Food Sci. Biotechnol. 2019, 4(1), 7-13. doi: 10.11648/j.ijfsb.20190401.12

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AMA Style

Jedidah Wanjiku Kiharason, Dorcas Khasungu Isutsa. Marketability of Value-added Pumpkin (Cucurbita moschata Duch.) Fruit in a Representative Peri-urban Kenyan Market. Int J Food Sci Biotechnol. 2019;4(1):7-13. doi: 10.11648/j.ijfsb.20190401.12

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@article{10.11648/j.ijfsb.20190401.12,
  author = {Jedidah Wanjiku Kiharason and Dorcas Khasungu Isutsa},
  title = {Marketability of Value-added Pumpkin (Cucurbita moschata Duch.) Fruit in a Representative Peri-urban Kenyan Market},
  journal = {International Journal of Food Science and Biotechnology},
  volume = {4},
  number = {1},
  pages = {7-13},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ijfsb.20190401.12},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijfsb.20190401.12},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijfsb.20190401.12},
  abstract = {Pumpkin (C. moschata Duch.) fruit is a highly nutritious horticultural crop with great potential for commercialization. However, in Kenya many households do not buy and utilize pumpkins regularly, leading to low demand. These scenarios increase post-harvest losses and provide no incentive for farmers to increase production in Kenya, which has an abundance of pumpkin landraces that unfortunately remain under-exploited and under-utilized. Their distribution and marketing is a great challenge due to easy perishability. Horticultural crops experience losses in quality and quantity in between harvest and consumption. The magnitude of post-harvest losses in fresh fruits and vegetables is estimated to range from 20% to 50% in developing countries. The present study determined marketability of fresh fruit, and the spoilage rate of fresh fruit in the various presentation formats (eighth, quarter and half slices and a control of whole fruit either wrapped or not with cling film). Selling was facilitated by four market women in Nyeri County of Kenya. Statistical analysis showed significant differences (P<0.05) in number of spoilt pieces over time, and between number of days to spoilage of whole fruit, compared to slice fruit. More quarter and half slices got spoiled after a few days of presentation to buyers. Nonetheless, quarter slices had the highest (54.5%) pieces sold, while half slices had the fewest (9.8%) pieces sold. However, no significant differences occurred in average number of pieces sold, or in amount of money from sale of fruit pieces of different presentation formats. Most consumers preferred buying smaller slices. Therefore, adoption and promotion of pumpkin presentation formats that effectively increase shelf-life is recommended to enhance production and utilization in Kenya.},
 year = {2019}
}

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