Research & reports

Fan Zi-wen · 地理科学进展 · China (Beijing)

This study analyzed typologies of vegetable production in peri-urban Beijing in pursuit of food security driven by urban agriculture development. It analyzed fresh vegetable supply sources in Beijing, identified disadvantages of longer-distance supply, and summarized five typical urban agricultural development models in peri-urban Beijing's vegetable production, including their background, operation, and management characteristics.

Johanna F. Lindahl · · Vietnam

The circulation of Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) in pigs and mosquitoes was investigated around Can Tho city in Vietnam's Mekong Delta. Of 315 sows, 60% were JEV seropositive, and seropositivity was associated with more stillborn piglets in sows under 1.5 years old. Among 7885 mosquitoes collected in and around Can Tho city, seven pools collected near pigs tested positive for JEV, indicating co-circulation of JEV genotypes I and III. All 43 pigs sampled within Can Tho city were JEV seropositive, demonstrating that JEV can be a public health issue in urban areas.

Seunghwan Kim, Sung-Yung Yoon, Min-Jun Cha, Hae-Jin Yoo, Ji‐Young Cho, Yoon‐Sun Kim · Journal of the Korean Institute of Landscape Architecture · South Korea

This study investigated the planning, construction, partnership, and cost-sharing processes of an experimental rooftop community garden at a disabled welfare house in South Korea. The project, led by Busan Green Trust and a citizens' council, involved funding from Standard Chartered SC First Bank, volunteers, and administrative support. The established garden provided food production, urban agriculture experience, horticultural therapy, and cultural space for users, demonstrating the potential for low-cost rooftop community gardens to improve urban environments and foster community.

Minjae Kong, Kwang-Lai Park, Jin-Kwan Son, Ji-Hoon Shin · Journal of the Korea Society of Environmental Restoration Technology · South Korea (Seoul)

This study investigated the characteristics of rooftop gardens (farms) in 40 areas in Seoul, Korea. Cabbage, lettuce, pepper, and mini-tomatoes were the most preferred vegetables and fruits. Problems observed in rooftop gardens during cultivation included drainage systems, soil management, the cost or quality of planting mats, and diseases and insects.

王丽蓉, Rui YANG · 南京林业大学学报：人文社会科学版 · China

This article discusses the construction of urban elderly care centers based on "vertical farm" landscapes in China, addressing rapid urbanization and an aging society. It proposes integrating vertical farms into elderly care facilities to offer recreational activities and physical labor, aiming to improve the mental and physical well-being of the elderly. The article explores new community-based elderly care models, drawing on practices in Nanjing's Nanhu community, by introducing a public participation system and green ecological landscape techniques.

Qing Tian · · China (Beijing)

Based on Agricultural Location Theory, 23 matched soil-wheat sample sets were collected from Beijing's central city, suburban plain and exurban plain zones to analyze the accumulation, chemical forms and bioavailability of lead under differing intensities of human activity. Urban soil showed lead contamination with an average concentration of 35.59 mg/kg above the limit, likely from traffic and industrial emissions, and suburban agricultural soil also showed localized lead contamination from long-term sewage irrigation, with lead more mobile in urban agricultural soil than in suburban soil and least mobile in exurban agricultural soil. The average bioconcentration factor of lead in wheat seeds was a low 0.0044, but some lead concentrations in wheat seeds grown in urban and suburban agricultural soil exceeded the standard limit, indicating a potential health risk to residents in those areas.

김혁수, 김영남, 김진원, 김계훈 · 한국토양비료학회지 · South Korea (Seoul)

This study investigated the physicochemical properties and heavy metal (Cd, Pb, Cu, Zn) contents in 21 urban agricultural soils in Seoul. The total heavy metal concentrations in these soils were found to be lower than the warning levels specified by the Soil Environmental Conservation Act of Korea for area 1. Phytoavailable concentrations of Cu, Pb, and Zn were also reported.

박은하, 오충현 · · South Korea (Seoul)

A 2011 study conducted in the Seoul metropolitan area of South Korea analyzed the participation status and demands regarding urban agriculture. The research involved interviews with urban agriculture site operators and participants from June to July 2011, and a survey of 153 general citizens who participated in a pocket garden event on September 3, 2011. The survey covered urban agriculture awareness, participation status, attitudes towards eco-friendly agriculture, produce safety, and activation measures.

Hyuck-Soo Kim, Young‐Nam Kim, Jin‐Won Kim, Kye-Hoon Kim · 한국토양비료학회지 · South Korea (Seoul)

This study investigated the properties and total and phytoavailable contents of heavy metals (Cd, Pb, Cu, Zn) in 21 urban agricultural soils in Seoul, South Korea. The total heavy metal concentrations in the examined urban agricultural soils were found to be lower than the warning levels for area 1 according to the Soil Environmental Conservation Act of Korea. Phytoavailable-Cu, -Pb, and -Zn concentrations were also reported as 0.02-0.28, N.D-0.09, and 0.01-0.43 mg/kg, respectively.

Zhou Pei · · China (Shanghai)

A study conducted in Orchard Village, Nanhui District, Shanghai, from July to September 2009, investigated the effects of phosphorus non-point source pollution on groundwater in an urban agricultural region. Total phosphorus concentrations averaged 1.31 mg/L and phosphate concentrations averaged 0.42 mg/L, with phosphate significantly exceeding the V class surface water standard (0.4 mg/L), rendering the water unsuitable for drinking. Phosphorus non-point source transport was linked to land-use types, with phosphorus content near orchards changing with increased rainfall, and farmland phosphorus loss accelerating with runoff, fertilization, and water leach.

허북구, 박윤점, 오대민, 박종수, 윤숙영, 조자용 · · South Korea

This study developed marketing techniques for mugwort seedlings for urban agriculture and horticultural therapy in South Korea. Researchers examined mugwort amounts needed for various uses, harvest times and yields by seedling type and container size, and seedling quality under marketing conditions. Findings showed that one-year-old rhizomes had the shortest harvest time (25 days) and highest yield (13.2g per plant) at first harvest, and seedling quality did not decrease after 3 days of cold marketing.

Xiaona Li · Nongye huanjing kexue xuebao · China

A study measuring dioxin-like compound (PCDD/Fs) concentrations in 23 surface soil samples collected from different areas of Baiyin City, China, using HRGC/HRMS (high-resolution gas chromatography/high-resolution mass spectrometry). The concentration range of 2,3,7,8-PCDD/Fs was 0.42-8.56 pg I-TEQ/g, averaging 2.28 pg I-TEQ/g. By land-use type, concentrations averaged 3.37 pg I-TEQ/g in industrial areas, 1.31 in urban areas, 1.01 in agricultural areas, and 0.85 in background areas, following the order industrial > urban > agricultural > background. Higher-chlorinated isomers were the dominant contributors to total toxic equivalency (TEQ) in most samples.

Chandra Sen · Journal of Interdisciplinary Economics · India

This study estimated the impact of air pollution on crop yields in peri-urban areas of Varanasi, India. Phytotoxic gases are known to cause major yield reductions in important crops in developing countries, and in this study all major crops grown in peri-urban Varanasi — paddy, pigeon pea, maize, wheat, and potato — showed yield reductions attributable to air pollution. Air pollution was found to reduce both the yield and the nutritional quality of the produce, and the study calls for similar validation studies in other cities and for efforts to reduce air pollution in the city to improve crop yield and quality.

Abha Singh, Salahuddin Mohd. · National Geographical Journal of India · India

In-depth field research around the Iglas sewage pumping station on the Aligarh-Mathura road in Aligarh, India, surveyed 41 farming households and some consumers across five peri-urban villages — Bhojpura, Hari Narayan ki Sarai, Hajipur Chohata, Kheri Khwaja Buddha and Daurala Nirpal — that had used urban wastewater for irrigation for many years. Farmers and vegetable sellers reported suffering from ailments including diarrhoeal disease, typhoid fever, hookworm, amoebiasis and skin infections, yet their primary concern was securing enough water to sustain crop productivity and income, while consumers were more focused on getting a fresh, steady supply of vegetables than on the health risk.

Seyed Esmaeil Mahdavian, R. Somashekar · ePrints@Bangalore University (Bangalore University) · India (Bangalore)

A study in Bangalore city, India, showed that urban consumers are at greater risk of purchasing fresh fruits with high levels of heavy metals beyond the legally permissible limits defined by the Indian Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, 1954. These national norms are less strict than international food safety standards.

Euis Suryaningsih · Jurnal Hortikultura · Indonesia (Bandung)

From January to July 2001, a field experiment on vegetable disease control in a mosaic farming system in periurban agriculture was conducted at a farmer's field in Rancaekek, Bandung, Indonesia. Treatments included white plastic net cages, biorational pesticides, Bacillus subtilis, a mixture of Mancozeb and Bacillus subtilis, and an unsprayed control. All tested alternative control methods were very effective against major diseases of chili pepper, shallot, eggplant, beans, and cucumber, but the use of poisonous synthetic pesticides in periurban agriculture increases the likelihood of contaminating humans and the environment.

XU Yong-xian, Biao Huang · Soils · China

A study of a small-scale vegetable farming system in peri-urban Nanjing, China, monitored heavy metal balances and pollution potential from July 2003 to July 2004. Heavy metals entered the soil mainly through fertilization and irrigation, with organic manure application accounting for more than 98% of inputs. Annual heavy metal input in the area was significantly higher than in European farmland, while annual output was very low, under 10% of input, leading to accumulation of heavy metals in the plots; long-term vegetable cultivation had already caused heavy metal buildup in the soils. Copper, lead, zinc, and cadmium concentrations in vegetables and soil were still below national safety standard limits, so the vegetable farming system was assessed as currently safe. However, an evaluation that incorporated atmospheric deposition showed the region carries a high risk of copper, zinc, and cadmium contamination, and the study concludes that intensive vegetable cultivation will aggravate soil heavy metal pollution, potentially pushing the soil to Second Grade of the National Soil Environment Quality Standard within several decades.

Do Thuy Trang, Kåre Mølbak, Phung Dac Cam, Anders Dalsgaard · Tropical Medicine & International Health · Vietnam (Hanoi)

A cross-sectional study in a peri-urban area of Hanoi, Vietnam, surveyed 400 agricultural households and examined 807 stool samples from 620 adults and 187 children for helminth infections. The study found that 39% of samples were infected with helminths, with Ascaris sp. at 21.6%, Trichuris sp. at 9.8%, and hookworm at 21.8%. Wastewater exposure was not a major risk, but lack of sanitation facilities and use of fresh or inadequately composted human excreta in agriculture were important risk factors for infection.

H. Chin, M.C. Palada · HortScience · Southeast Asia

A study developed a simple, rapid method for measuring nitrate-N accumulation against a backdrop of heavy nitrogen fertilizer use in intensive leafy vegetable production in peri-urban Southeast Asia. Five vegetables—amaranth, kangkong, Ethiopian kale, choysum, and leafy lettuce—were grown under eight N fertilizer levels from 0 to 350 kg/ha applied in three splits, with nitrate-N in leaf, petiole, and whole-plant sap measured using a Cardy nitrate meter and chlorophyll measured with a chlorophyll meter. Nitrate accumulation varied by species: at 200 kg/ha N, Ethiopian kale was highest (7,000 ppm), followed by kangkong (4,000 ppm), amaranth (3,500 ppm), and leafy lettuce (1,200 ppm), with significant correlations (P < 0.001) between fertilizer rate and nitrate content and between leaf chlorophyll and yield.

R. B. Singh · IAHS-AISH publication · India

A study on wastewater management in 300 class-I cities and 23 metropolitan cities in India found that the total wastewater generated is approximately 158x10^8 l/day, with treatment capacity being only 375x10^7 l/day. In metropolitan cities, only 30% of wastewater is treated before disposal, and most cities only have primary treatment facilities. Untreated water is being used for urban agriculture, posing risks to public health and potential surface and groundwater pollution.

Nigel Poole, DS Bhupal, Fiona Marshall, Dolf te Lintelo · · India

New knowledge is presented on the impacts of urban and peri-urban (UPU) environmental pollution on food safety attributes of vegetable marketing systems in India. Air pollution reduces crop yield and nutritional quality, and is a major source of particulate contaminants that accumulate at toxic levels in edible crops. The study explores the balance between public and private quality assurance initiatives and identifies wholesale markets as a potential entry point for quality assurance.

L.M. van den Berg · WIT transactions on ecology and the environment · Africa, Asia

Urban agriculture, despite severe competition for space, plays roles such as fresh food supply, leisure, supplementary income for the urban poor, and green space management. Case studies in Africa and Southeast Asia demonstrate the difficulty of maintaining these roles due to public health and environmental degradation concerns. Urban agricultural producers may rely on polluted streams for irrigation, cause soil erosion through inappropriate farming techniques, or poison surrounding residents with pesticides. The paper suggests that urban agriculture could be more beneficial to the urban system if treated by town planners as a normal urban function requiring both regulation and protection.