Improving the health of the global poor

We analyzed the technical basis for a major global program to reduce disease among the poor. Effective interventions exist against the few diseases which most account for excess mortality among the poor. Achieving high coverage of effective interventions requires a well-functioning health system, as well as overcoming a set of financial and nonfinancial constraints. The annual incremental cost would be between $40 billion and $52 billion by 2015 in 83 low-income and sub-Saharan African countries. Such a program is feasible and would avoid millions of child, maternal, and adult deaths annually in poor countries.     

Leaf stomatal conductance and stomatal morphology of Musa germplasm

Drought tolerance combined with resistance to black sigatoka (BS) disease are two desirable traits for plantains in some parts of the tropics. Field evaluation of leaf stomatal conductance, single leaf transpiration rate, photochemical efficiency, and role of stomata in BS resistance, was done for 18 genotypes of Musa spp., which included diploid and triploid banana and plantains and tetraploid plantain hybrids, at a sub-humid and a humid site. Conductances were significantly (P ≤ 0.01) higher for leaf abaxial than adaxial surfaces (S), while clonal (C) differences were significant (P ≤ 0.05). Interactions between sampling period (T: morning vs afternoon) and location (L), and clone and location (C × L) were significant for both conductance and transpiration; (C × T × L) interaction was significant for conductance. Significant interactions for (C × L) and (C × T) suggested that conductance and transpiration of a specific clone need to be considered for a given environment. Total variation in conductance was explained by the following variables: S, C, (C × L), (C × T), and (C × L × T). In general, ABB cooking banana had higher conductances than other Musa taxonomic groups (AAB, AA, AAA, and AAAB). Evaluation of morphological and physiological traits of leaf stomata indicated that the resistance to BS disease is due to non-stomatal mechanisms. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Contribution of Indian Gooseberry (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Phyllanthus emblica</Emphasis>) to Household Economy in Sri Lanka: A Case Study from Udadumbara Divisional Secretariat

Indian gooseberry, one of the most popular medicinal fruit crops in South and Southeast Asia, has become an important source of income for rural forest dwellers in Sri Lanka. However, very little is known about the role of Indian gooseberry in household economies and its contribution to the local and national economies. To address this issue, we conducted a study in Udadumbara Divisional Secretariat, Sri Lanka to estimate the economic contribution of Indian gooseberry to household incomes and to quantify its dependency level among households with different socio-economic characteristics. The data were collected from 117 households through interviews using semi-structured questionnaires. The results show that Indian gooseberry contributes on average 10.1% of the total household income, which is the third largest share after off-farm income (53.1%) and agricultural income (35.1%). The contribution of Indian gooseberry to the household income increases as other sources of income decrease which results in higher contributions for lower income households (16.4%) and lower contributions for higher income households (2.1%). Indian gooseberry income is significantly and negatively correlated with the agricultural land owned by households and water availability for agriculture and is positively correlated with the time spent for collection. Our results also found that if there is access to other sources of income and higher levels of education, the collectors’ dependences on Indian gooseberry are decreased. Moreover, the study found that Indian gooseberry trees are under a threatened and declining due to the reduction of forest cover and inappropriate management system. Therefore, collaborative management system through partnerships among rural community and the Forest Department is suggested.     

Seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii antibodies in captive elephants (Elephaus maximus maximus) in Sri Lanka

Serum samples collected during August 2003-June 2004 from 45 privately owned captive and 8 elephants from the Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage were tested for the presence of antibodies against Toxoplasma gondii using the direct modified agglutination test (MAT). Antibodies were found in sera of 14 of 45 (32%) privately owned elephants with titers of 1:25 in three, 1:50 in three, 1:100 in three, 1:200 in three, and 1:400 in three elephants. The elephants from Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage were seronegative. This is the first report of T. gondii seroprevalence in elephants in Sri Lanka.     

Genotypic variation for root pulling resistance in potato and its relationship with yield under water-deficit stress

Summary An extensively distributed root system may reduce the probability of crop failure during periods of restricted water supply. A quantitative measure of root distribution in the soil profile, i.e. pulling resistance of roots (PR), was tested at two moderately droughted tropical field sites. A total of 250 genotypes were evaluated for PR, 45 days after planting and for tuber yield at harvest at separate sites and years. The need to use genotypes adapted to a specific location for comparisons, across sites or seasons was shown by the results of a random analysis of variance model partitioning across site-season, location, and year effects for PR and tuber yield.A combined PR and growth analysis on 31 early-maturing clones, 7 of which had tubers at the time of sampling, gave significant correlations between PR and root length, dry weight of pulled and residual roots, plant height, number of stems, and in the case of the 7 genotypes with tubers, tuberlet weight and number. A regression model to predict PR based on growth analysis data is presented. Neither tuberlet weight nor number contributed significantly to the prediction once root characters and vigour-related characters were incorporated. Variation for PR among clones was significant and the means ranged from 0 kg/plant to 37 kg/plant during the 3 trials. High PR was evident in both early and late maturing clones. Drought resistance (DR), defined as high yielding ability and high PR under water deficit conditions, of the clones Huinkul and MS-35.22.R was superior to that of the high-yielding and adapted LT-7 check, while moderate levels of DR were confirmed for the clones BR-63.15, Cruza 27, Haille, and MEX-21. Tuber yield and PR under moderate drought were significantly correlated (r=0.569^***), which suggests that the PR method can be utilized to assist in the selection of high-yielding, drought resistant, potato genotypes adapted to tropics.