Debasish Paul

Dinajpur, Bangladesh, is famous for its delicious sweet-savory litchi. The climate in this region is ideal for litchi production. However, the roles of stakeholders in the litchi industry and their impact on sustainability remain unclear. This investigation was designed to outline the sustainability of the litchi value chain. Data was collected in two methods. Firstly, the major stakeholders, i.e., grower, trader, researcher, and supporter were interviewed online. Secondly, an in-person survey was conducted at Auliapur, Dinajpur. In the chain, there are growers, Aratdar (conducts the auction), Pikar (wholesaler), retailers, and consumers. In this male-centric chain, litchi growers control 90.90% of the value share, while Pikar and retailers each account for 4.55%. Growers were affected by a 13.88–19.20% loss per 1000 litchi fruit and a 29.98–34.60% loss per 1000 Tk (€9.92). In the orchard, unregulated agrochemicals are affecting sustainability; however, accepting reusable plastic crates and using traditional bamboo baskets to support the local basket maker is helping the community.

This experiment was conducted to study the effectiveness of different preservative solutions on vase life and quality of angelica cut inflorescences cv. Single. The concentrations of citric acid at 100, 200 and 300 mg L-1, sucrose at 3% and 4% and H2O2 at 0.1%, 0.2% and 0.3% were used as preservatives, while distilled water was used as control. The single factor experiment was laid out in a completely randomized design (CRD) with three replications. Citric acid and H2O2 solutions effectively inhibited bacterial growth-related blockage in the vascular tissues, but had adverse effects on the vase life. The inflorescences stored in sucrose (3% and 4%) solutions remained fresh up to 10 days after preservation (DAP), maintaining good solution uptake, controlling transpiration loss and gaining higher relative fresh weight. Different quality parameters like floret diameter and number of opened florets were also significantly higher in inflorescences preserved in sucrose (3% and 4%) solution, followed by control, citric acid and H2O2, respectively, in different DAP. Overall, the inflorescence of cut tuberose preserved in sucrose, particularly at 4% solutions, showed better postharvest quality than other preservatives and maximum vase life.