Mark Osa Akrong

Urban Agriculture: Influence of Quality of Irrigation Water and Post-harvest Handling on Bacterial Contamination and Heavy Metal on Lettuce Mark Osa Akrong

Water serves as a major input needed for food production and vegetables in particular. Different qualities of water are usually used for the production of vegetable in many urban and peri-urban agriculture, of which wastewater is a major component especially in arid areas. The uses of wastewater in agriculture irrigation can be a resource, and at the same time present a health risk, and consumers of vegetable likely to be eaten raw are usually at risk. The source and determination of bacteria flora and chemical contamination on the vegetable are therefore important. Furthermore, different type of storage system of vegetables can affect its quality. This book seeks to explore the quality of different types of irrigation water sources used in urban agriculture. The quality of lettuce produced and different storage effect on lettuce at the market have also been addressed.