From the
Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research
Top 10
Nutritious Leafy Vegetables in the Pacific
An Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR)
funded study on nutritionally rich leafy vegetables in the
Pacific region has identified the ‘Top 10’ and produced a series of
fact sheets to promote them to indigenous communities.
The
data obtained were used to produce 500 sets of factsheets which
featured the top ten vegetables for nutritional value and popularity,
and these were distributed in the participating countries.
The
factsheets, which were very well received, included information on
plant traits, propagation, harvesting and storage methods, common pests
and diseases, and nutritional value (see www.aciar.gov.au/News2013July).
Outstanding species included Abelmoschus manihot
(aibika), Polyscias
spp. (ete), Sauropus
androgynus (sweetleaf) and
Moringa
oleifera (drumstick tree).
Sweetleaf, for example, was
high in iron, zinc, calcium, magnesium, manganese, sulphur, lutein,
b-carotene and protein; ete was high in zinc and calcium, and grows
well on alkaline coral soils, and the drumstick tree was particularly
high in b-carotene, sulphur and selenium.
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