User talk:Hoferv

Dear Veronika

You covered a lot of different aspects of Njangsa which makes your text very interesting. I think you wrote a really well structured text. However I suggest you slight changes. Most of them I wrote directly into the text, in italic and bold. Maybe you could change chapter 4 to a subchepter of chapter 3. I think harvest is also part of the production. Perhaps you can find an other title for the chapter "products and ecological value". It does not really conform to the following subchapters because they are all with -value. I also marked some grammatical issues (most commas) which I'm not sure of neither. So if you think I'm not right, you just ignore it...

best regards

Marisa

Native geographic location and native ecosystem
Njangsa is endemic to Tropical Africa. The native geographic location of Njangsa reaches from Senegal in West Africa to Sudan, Uganda, and Tanzania(comma?) , and from Sudan down to the western coast of Sub-Saharan Africa to Angola. The tree is also found in Madacascar.

Njangsa grows generally in rain forests and is also typical for secondary forests. This tree is a light-demanding species. Therefore it can also be found in deciduous forests, forest edges, secondary scrubs and thickets in semi-dry savannahs as well as in food crop fields, cocoa farms and other agroforestry systems, where the trees can also intentionally planted. (I would do two sentences)

==Products and ecological value ==

Food-value
The eatable parts of the plant are the high nutritive kernels content in the seeds. The dried and ground kernels are used as a flavoring agent in some dishes in West and Central Africa. The past of ground kernels is used to thicken soups and stews. Oil can be obtained from the kernels. Only a small amount of extracted seed oil is carried out. The oil has a yellowish color and tastes similar to groundnut oil. Because of its high content of γ-tocopherol, the oil is very stable and is becoming rancid only slowly. This oil is interesting as cooking oil, margarine or for soap production and pharmaceutical preparations.you have this in "Industrial production"

(--> maybe this table needs a inscription?)

Medicinal value
The extract of bark of the tree is used by traditional doctors as an antidote against poison because the extracts are said to contain lupeol. It is also use to cure various diseases as cough, malaria, yellow fever, stomach pain, rheumatism, (comma?) etc. Other characteristics are aphrodisiac and anti-inflammatory properties. Seed husk and latex, leaf decoction and sap are also used to treat divers illness (point)

Ecological value
Presence of Njangsa helps to improve soil quality because the roots are colonized by mycorrhizae and because of its natural leaf litter. Burned kernel shells deliver potassium rich ash and the cake remaining after oil extraction from seeds has high nitrogen content. Both products can be used as fertilizer. Njangsa provides shade for humans, livestock and crops and leafs can be used as fodder for livestock during dry season.(maybe two sentences?)

Industrial uses
Oil obtained from dried kernel and ash from burned wood can be used for soap and varnish production.

Social and historical implications
In southern Cameroon, dried seeds are used for a traditional game called “songho”. In Sierra Leon they are used for rattles for “bundu” dances and in Nigeria they are used for a game called “okwe”.

Cultivation area
The main production area of Njangsa is the humid forest zone of Cameroon. The tree is one of the commonest seedlings seen in the more open parts of the forest. Consequently the species is abundant in new farming clearings. During these clearings, farmers kept trees from this species.

(maybe you could put "climate and soil requirement" here..)

Yields
The kernel is economically the most important part of the tree. They are collected from the ground between September and October. Njangsa trees yield fruits every two or three years(comma?) some trees even every year. Each harvest yields up to 900 fruits and an average of 72 kg of kernels.

Cultivars
Njangsa is a new crop and is actively domesticated only since 1995. The knowledge about the genetic diversity is therefore limited. Today, available information about genetic resources is too little,(comma?) that improvements occur by plant breeding.

Climate and soil requirement
Best germination success can be observed on a mixture of river sand and forest soil with a ratio of 1:3.

Propagation
Propagation of Njangsa is possible by seeds, by vegetative propagation or by grafting. The advantage of propagation by seeds is that the tree develops strong taproot. This is important for the stability of the tree as well as for big exploration zone for water and nutrient up-take. Because Njangsa is dioecic, it is difficult to identify male and female trees before the reproductive phase. Because of high genetic variability, seeds may have different characteristics compared to the parent plant. Vegetative propagation allows reproducing trees with exactly the same characteristics as the selected female tree. Njangsa can also be propagated by grafting. A shoot or bud (the scion) is united with an already established rootstock.

Field establishment
The site should be cleared, especially if the trees are associated with other food crops. Then the young plants can be planted in planting holes separated by 10 m from each other. Before transplanting the plants, they need to spend at least 6 month (plural) under shade and need a minimal size of 20-30 cm. After planting, a 1 m high fence of palm fronds for shade should be established, covered at the top, (I don't really understand the sentence) for the first two weeks.

Plant management
Water: The plants need to be watered abundantly after transplanting so that the plant can adapt to the new environment. To avoid high water losses by evaporation, a mulch layer can keep soil moisture. Fertilizer: The establishment and development of this fast growing tree can be improved by supplying it with enough nutrients trough mineral fertilizer. Husbandry: As long as the plant is young, weeding is very important to reduce competition for water and nutrients, so that a fast growth and development is possible. Pest and disease control: No major disease are observed yet. But Njangsa can be attacked by herbivores as caterpillars (Lobobunaea phaedusa, Imbrasia petiveri, Imbrasia obscura, Imbrasia melanops). These caterpillars are eatable and are therefore not treated with chemicals but collected by local population as source of protein. Aphids can infest plants in nurseries. They are easy to detect because the leaves curl as result of an attack. These aphids can be controlled with a systemic insecticide. Once the trees are in the field since more than two years, treatments are no more necessary because of plant vigor.

Harvest and postharvest treatment
First fruit harvest occurs after 6 to 7 years of age in forests or after 3 to 4 years in managed plantations. The fruits are picked up by hand from the ground, (comma)once they are ripe enough to drop from the tree (September-October). To facilitate harvest, the ground under the tree should be cleared. Once harvested, the fruits are placed on a pile for two to three weeks so that the pulp is rotting faster and the seeds can be extracted easily.

Extracting the kernel from the pulp is a time-taking process because of their hard shape. After boiling them in water, cooling them down, the kernel are extracted one by one with a knife or nails. Then the kernels are sun or fire dried. Njangsa is stored as seed or as kernel. If they are well dried, they can be stored up to two years on a dry place.

Review
Dear Veronika

In advance: I wasn’t really sure which part of the entry on the Wikipedia side you made. I supposed that the entry on the Wikipedia side is already the improved article (the existing entry and your entry) and the article on your user page is just your entry.

However I think you worked out a really great article of Njangsa. There is now information about each issue. I couldn’t find an issue in the literature you didn’t explain in your article. I also like your choice of words and the shortness of the sentences. Because of this facts your entry is easy readable by a normal Wikipedia user. I just recommend you to rename a few bullet points. The bullet points “Native geographic location and native ecosystem”, “Products and ecological value” could be replaced by “Native location” respectively “Uses and benefits”. I think this bullet points are better to understand by a Wikipedia user.

The structure of your entry helps to a clear view on the issues. It could be improved by moving the content of the already existed chapter “Culinary use” to the chapter “Food- value” because the topic is the same. The chapter “Harvest and postharvest treatment” belongs for me to the main-chapter “Production” because it’s the last step in the production chain. The second part of the content in the first chapter “The tree is fast growing and reaches a height between 20 and 50 m with straight trunk which can have a diameter up to 2.7 m. His crown is broad and the roots are big running. The bark is smooth with a grey color. Inside, the bark is red when cut. Njangsa is a dioecic plant. The flowers are yellowish white, 5 mm long and form a long terminal panicle which measures between 15 and 40 cm. Flowering time is between April and May. Male panicles are larger and slender than female flowers. Ricinodendron heudelotii trees produce a fruit that are typically 2-3 lobed and contain 2 cells in which the seeds lie. These seeds are red-brown to black in colour, rounded and some 1 cm in diameter. The seeds are oily in texture and can be bought either raw or dried. They have an odour reminiscent of oily chocolate, but their flavour is truly unique: subtly aromatic with a mild bitter aftertaste. At maturity (August - September) the fruit smells like over-ripe apples.[1]“ I would move into a new made chapter “Description” for a better clarity. Your presentation of the parameter’s data in tables is a good choice to keep the clarity of the page.

The recommended improvements above are the main ones. I think there should also a few formal improvements be done: The bullet point “Cultivation technic” should be changed by “Cultivation Technique” because technic is the adjective of technique. In the entry the same plant’s name should be used. In the already existed entry “Ricinodendron heudelotii“ is used while you use “Njangsa”. Choose one of them for the whole article (except the initially sentence of course). In the chapter “Plant management” I would take each section (“Water”, “Fertilizer”, “Husbandry”, “Pest and disease control”) on a new line. Then I suggest you to make links from terms in your entry to the term’s Wikipedia side. This can be done by using the link button on top of the editing side.

I hope my suggestions help you to improve your article.

Töni — Preceding unsigned comment added by Gujant (talk • contribs) 19:05, 20 November 2012 (UTC)