Occupational Heat Stress in the Floriculture Industry of Ethiopia: Health Risks and Productivity Losses

Background: The Ethiopian flower industry is growing fast with successful diversification of export products under greenhouse structures. Higher temperatures in the greenhouses pose a serious threat to the health of workers and add to the risk of occupational heat stress. Excessive heat in workplace settings also reduces work capacity and labour productivity. This study aims to investigate the level of heat exposure, and workers’ and managers’ perceptions and behavioural responses towards extreme heat exposure in a warming climate. Methods: We used the Wet Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT) measured in representative greenhouses to capture the heat exposure during hotter and cooler seasons following ISO 7243 (generally risk of heat stress occurs when WBGT exceeds 26°C). A comparative cross-sectional study design with a stratified sampling method was used to assess occupational heat stress and workers’ perceptions of the impact of heat on their health and productivity in six different floriculture greenhouses in Ethiopia representing three different agro-ecologies and products. A questionnaire survey was conducted (30 managers/supervisors and 305 workers;76.1% female) to capture perceptions on heat exposures, symptoms of potential health impacts, productivity losses and coping mechanisms. Results: Heat exposure varied across different agroecologies, product types and greenhouse materials with a median WBGT Index of 25.5°C and a range from 18.1°C to 31.5°C. The impact of heat stress also varied across different employment sectors and geographical regions. Overall, workers in cut-flower greenhouses are exposed to higher than recommended WBGT Index (26°C) for 3 - 6 working hours daily. 65% of the managers reported that heat stress has a significant impact on the workers’ labour productivity, but do not have guidance about working in hot conditions. Workers reported more heat-related health issues and reduced productivity, especially in the mid-altitude greenhouses. About 50% of the workers reported that heat exposure decreased work productivity during hot hours. Sweating, exhaustion, heat-rashes, dehydration, crumps, nausea and headache were self-reported health issues. Labour productivity losses ranged from no loss to 19.5% in the mid- and low-altitudes. Conclusions and Recommendations: Excessive workplace heat in the greenhouses is both an occupational health hazard and detrimental to productivity in the floriculture industry. However, the level of understanding and actions on the ground regarding occupational heat stress are low. The code of conduct in place now does not consider the occupational heat stress issues. Multiple actions (engineering, management, training and policy-related recommendations) have to be implemented by Ethiopian Horticultural Producers and Exporters Association (EHPEA) and farm owners to mitigate heat stress and loss of productivity. Designing and implementing these heat prevention strategies and incorporating them into the code of conduct is in the interests of both employers and employees.

Leveraging GIS in Supply Chain Management for Floriculture Application: Nairobi County, Kenya

Agriculture continues to be the bedrock of Kenya’s economy at 24% of the GDP with 80% of the population living in the rural areas. Horticulture one of the sub-sectors in agriculture generates US$1 billion annually. The favorable weather provides an environment for the flower industry to thrive. However, flowers are a very delicate commodity and require appropriate management to minimize losses due to decay. A GIS based system is thus desirable to manage the flower chain from the supplier that is the farms, to distributors and eventually to the florists/consumers. The goal of this study therefore was to leverage the use of GIS in managing the supply chain for floriculture application using Nairobi County as a case study. One of the objectives addressed involved identification of optimal or alternative routes for efficient delivery of flowers from the source to the consumer using Network analysis. Ensuring that customers receive the right flowers in terms of quality and quantity was also addressed using Business Intelligence analysis. Trace analysis was done to provide information to the consumers on the source of the flowers and the growing conditions. From the case study, City Market acted as the link between the flower farms and the florists/consumers. The results obtained were presented using maps, graphs, pie charts and tables. The Central Business District (CBD) was found to be the largest purchaser compared to other regions and the months considered. Karen and CBD were the highest purchasers of Lilies whereas Ferns were preferred in Westlands. The CBD registered high level of satisfaction followed by Karen. Greenhouses and hydroponic methods were used for growing flowers resulting in variations in terms of vase life and stem length. GIS in SCM for floriculture application is useful in understanding the floriculture business environment.

Correlation study of some physico-chemical parameters and benthic macroinvertebrates metrics on the ecological impacts of floriculture industries along Wedecha River, Debrezeit, Ethiopia

Objective: To assess the quality of water using biological and chemical information correlation study. Methods: A total of 6 sites, one reference site less impaired to represent natural conditions from upstream, and 5 impaired sites in the downstream were sampled for macroinvertebrates and physicochemical parameters. Results: In the polluted sites with high nutrient enrichment and organic loading, only organisms with special physiological and morphological adaptations were found, such as Hydrobiidae, Physidae and Viviparidae snails. Physicochemical parameters: electrical conductivity, chemical oxygen demand, biological oxygen demand, sulphate, orthophosphate and nitrate-nitrogen and metrics: percent of Mollusca, percent of Physidae and percent of dominant taxa were used for monitoring, and expected to have strong positive relation with increasing disturbance. Conclusions: Therefore, floriculture industries wastewater discharged to the nearby rivers has enormous effect on the degradation of the ecosystem. To sustain the ecological conditions of the nearby rivers, wastewater treatment and environmental audit were suggested. Environmental assessment and environmental audit enable the floriculturist to keep humans and the environment safe. Taking care of workers, soil, water and the environment has to be seen with great care and caution because it is difficult to maintain a healthy community and carry out development in a degraded environment.

Chrysanthemum Growth Gains from Beneficial Microbial Interactions and Fertility Improvements in Soil Under Protected Cultivation

An investigation was undertaken to analyse the influence of microbial inoculants on growth and enzyme activities elicited, and soil microbiome of two varieties of Chrysanthemum morifolium Ramat, which were grown under protected mode of cultivation. Rhizosphere soil sampling at 45 and 90 DAT(days after transplanting of cuttings) revealed up to four- to five-fold enhancement in the activity of defence-, and pathogenesisrelated, and antioxidant enzymes, relative to the uninoculated control. Plant growth and soil microbial parameters, especially soil microbial biomass carbon and potential nitrification exhibited significant increases over control. Available soil nitrogen concentrations showed 40%–44% increment in inoculated treatments. Scanning electron microscopy of the root tissues revealed biofilm-like aggregates and individual short bits of cyanobacterial filaments. Analyses of DGGE profiles of archaeal and bacterial communities did not show temporal variations(between 45 and 90 DAT). However,distinct influences on the number and abundance of phylotypes due to microbial inoculants were recorded. The inoculants — Cyanobacterial consortium(BF1- 4) and Anabaena sp.–Trichoderma sp. biofilm(An-Tr) were particularly promising in terms of the plant and soil related parameters,and remained distinct in the DGGE profiles generated. The effect of Trichoderma viride–Azotobacter biofilm on soil bacterial and archaeal communities was unique and distinct as a separate cluster. This study highlights that microbial inoculants exert positive effects, which are specific even to the rhizosphere soil microbiome of chrysanthemum varieties tested. Such inoculants can serve as soil fertility enhancing options in protected floriculture.

The genomic and bulked segregant analysis of Curcuma alismatifolia revealed its diverse bract pigmentation

Compared with most flowers where the showy part comprises specialized leaves(petals)directly subtending the reproductive structures,most Zingiberaceae species produce showy“flowers”through modifications of leaves(bracts)subtending the true flowers throughout an inflorescence.Curcuma alismatifolia,belonging to the Zingiberaceae family,a plant species originating from Southeast Asia,has become increasingly popular in the flower market worldwide because of its varied and esthetically pleasing bracts produced in different cultivars.Here,we present the chromosome-scale genome assembly of C.alismatifolia“Chiang Mai Pink”and explore the underlying mechanisms of bract pigmentation.Comparative genomic analysis revealed C.alismatifolia contains a residual signal of whole-genome duplication.Duplicated genes,including pigment-related genes,exhibit functional and structural differentiation resulting in diverse bract colors among C.alismatifolia cultivars.In addition,we identified the key genes that produce different colored bracts in C.alismatifolia,such as F3′5'H,DFR,ANS and several transcription factors for anthocyanin synthesis,as well as chlH and CAO in the chlorophyll synthesis pathway by conducting transcriptomic analysis,bulked segregant analysis using both DNA and RNA data,and population genomic analysis.This work provides data for understanding the mechanism of bract pigmentation and will accelerate breeding in developing novel cultivars with richly colored bracts in C.alismatifolia and related species.It is also important to understand the variation in the evolution of the Zingiberaceae family.

Influence of sprinkler irrigation droplet diameter, application intensity and specific power on flower damage

To determine the main parameters of droplet strike damage and avoid flower injury due to the unsuitable practices during sprinkler irrigation, an indoor experiment of irrigation droplet impact on cyclamen was conducted.The influences of different parameters such as droplet diameter, application intensity, specific power on flower strike damage was analyzed using Image Pro-Plus software to compute strike damage area and define damage level by sense-analysis. The results showed that a damage area of < 1% represents a safe irrigation level, 1%–3% slight damage level, 3%–6% moderate damage level, and > 6%heavy damage level. Equations of application intensity,specific power with sprinkler irrigation time and flower injury ratio were regressed against parameters which cause impact damages. The results indicated that specific power has a significant correlation with injury, and flower damage area increased as the increasing of the value of specific power for the same irrigation time. Application intensity was also correlated with injury when the droplet diameter was larger than 1 mm. When the duration of sprinkler irrigation was 1, 5 and 10 min, the threshold of impinging damage of application intensity was 25.30, 5.01 and1.64 mm·h^(–1) and the specific power was 0.467×10^(–3),9.340×10^(–3) and 3.110×10^(–3)W·m^(–2). These results provide a reference for determining the suitable values of sprinkler properties in operation design.