Analysis of Students' Dissertation: A Case for Promotion of Lesser-used Vegetables in Ghana

Abstract

Vegetables are valuable sources of vitamins, minerals, fibres and are important in fighting against diseases and malnutrition. One thousand, five hundred and thirty-four (1,534) student theses on plants submitted to the Faculties of Agriculture of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, University of Ghana and University of Cape Coast covering the period 1980-2005 were reviewed to determine the thrust and intensity of research on vegetables. The results indicate that students research in the three universities focused on the well-known vegetables namely tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.), okra (Abelmoschus esculentus (L.) Moench), onion (Allium cepa L.) and garden egg (Solanum spp.). The lesser-used vegetables such as lablab (Lablab purpureus (L.) Sweet), bottle gourd (Lagenaria siceraria (Molina) Standl.) which has the potential to contribute to food nutrition and food security received little or no research attention. On the basis of their potential contribution in addressing nutritional imbalance, it is recommended that some attention is directed to research on the development, cultivation, management and utilization of the lesser-used vegetables in Ghana.

Keywords: Vegetables, research, student theses, nutritive values, lesser-used.