Dual-purpose Cultivars Research Articles

Impact of Seeding Rates and Cutting on Two Barley Dual-purpose Cultivars Production

Impact of Seeding Rates and Cutting on Two Barley Dual-purpose Cultivars Production

Sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench] and cowpea [Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walpers] intercropping improves grain yield, fodder biomass, and nutritive value

Burkina Faso livestock feeding is characterized by a hot dry season fodder deficit, which affects animal performance and causes economic losses. To overcome this challenge, improving quality fodder production through the use of dual-purpose crops is a potential alternative. Hence, this study aimed at testing dual-purpose cultivars of sorghum and cowpea under monoculture and intercropping in the North Sudan zone in Burkina Faso. To do this, a “Mother and Baby trials” approach was adopted. The mother trial was designed as a randomized complete block with eight treatments (combinations of monoculture and intercropping systems for two cowpeas and two sorghum cultivars) and four replications during two cropping seasons (2019 and 2020) at the INERA research station in Saria. The on-farm “baby” trials involved 30 farmers during two cropping seasons (2019 and 2020) in four communes: Koudougou, Poa, Nandiala, and Kokologo. Data were collected on weed biomass and density, fodder biomass and grain yield, intercropping efficiency, and fodder nutritive value. The results of the mother trial showed that intercropping significantly (p ≤ 0.05) reduced weed density and weed biomass. Sorghum cultivar Ponta Negra had the highest fodder biomass yield (10.05 kg DM/ha) while sorghum Sariaso16 had the highest grain yield (4.42 kg/ha). Cowpea cultivar KVx745-11P had greater fodder biomass (4.72 kg DM/ha) than Tiligré (3.28 kg DM/ha) with similar grain yield (2.17 and 2.17 kg/ha). Intercropping was the most efficient land-use cropping system for fodder biomass and grain yield improvement both in mother and baby trials. For fodder nutritive value, cultivars Sariaso16 and Ponta Negra had similar crude protein concentrations (ranging from 4.1 to 5.4%), and cowpea cultivar KVx745-11P haulms had greater crude protein (ranging from 16.9 to 20.3%). The use of Ponta Negra and KVx745-11P and Sariaso16 and KVx745-11P under intercropping is likely to optimize grain and quality fodder production for crop-livestock farmers in the North Sudan zone.

Multivariate analysis of germplasm lines of pearl millet [Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br.] for identification of dual-purpose cultivar

An experiment was conducted in a randomized complete block design with three replications to study the genetic variability in germplasm lines of pearl millet. A total of eight traits were taken including grain yield and dry fodder yield. Analysis of variance showed significant variability for all the studied traits. The grain yield ranged from 42.76 to 10.45 q/ha with an average mean of 20.32 q/ha, and the dry fodder yield ranged from 103.66 to 40.30 q/ha. There was little difference between PCV and GCV in the studied traits suggesting a minimum influence of environment. High estimates of heritability coupled with high/ moderate genetic advance were recorded for all traits indicating the presence of additive genetic variances. Correlation, regression and path analysis study revealed that grain yield was positively related to dry fodder yield, panicle length, panicle diameter and plant height. The first five principal components captured almost 90% of the variability, and the hierarchical clustering separated 28 germplasm lines into four groups. The studied germplasm lines have sufficient variability for grain and fodder yield. Selection of these germplasm lines in future breeding programmes would be rewarding to release dual-purpose cultivars.

Shelf life and quality of banana cultivar Nendran as influenced by shrink–wrap packaging and storage temperature

Banana is the most widely cultivated fruit crop in Kerala. Nendran, a dual purpose cultivar is grown for consumption as vegetable in the unripe stage and also as fruit, upon ripening. An experiment was conducted during 2019-20 to extend the shelf life of this fruit through shrink wrapping, followed by storage under ambient and cool chamber conditions, after sanitizing with chlorine (100 ppm) followed by treatment with alum (1 %) and subsequently dipping in the fungicide, Carbendazim 50 WP (0.1 %). Initial titratable acidity and ascorbic acid contents of Nendran banana were 0.16 % and 6.06 mg 100g-1 respectively. Total phenols and starch content of freshly harvested green Nendran banana were 145 mg 100g-1 and 84.0 % respectively. Shelf life of shrink wrapped fruits held in cool chamber could be extended to 45 days whereas the unwrapped fruits under ambient storage (control) became unmarketable after 7 days. The findings of the study revealed that physiological loss in weight and rate of respiration recorded an upward trend during storage while fruit firmness recorded a downward trend. Total soluble solids, titratable acidity and ascorbic acid rose with advancement of storage duration whereas total phenols and starch content declined. . The developed protocol could be used for long distance transportation to distant markets for internal trade as well as for shipment to foreign markets.

Evaluation of Industrial Hemp Seed Treatments for Management of Damping-Off for Enhanced Stand Establishment

The purpose of this research was to collect efficacy data on biological, biochemical, and chemical fungicide seed treatments on hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) to mitigate damping-off and enhance field stand establishment. Seed treatments were evaluated in fields in New York (NY), North Dakota (ND), and Virginia (VA) and at two planting dates in each state in 2020. A single seed lot of a dual-purpose (fiber + grain) cultivar (‘Anka’) was treated using a laboratory-scale rotary pan coater. Five biological, two biochemical, and four chemical seed treatments were tested. A laboratory germination test revealed that seed treatments did not exhibit phytotoxicity when compared to the non-treated control. A laboratory bioassay with naturally infested soil was used to assess the preliminary activity of seed treatments for protection against damping-off. The biochemical seed treatment Ultim® (active ingredient; organic copper) performed as well as the chemical treatments Apron XL® + Maxim® 4FS and Mertect® 340F in preventing damping-off whereas the biological treatments did not differ from the non-treated control in terms of disease incidence. In all field tests, biological seed treatments did not improve plant stands compared to the non-treated control. Biochemical seed treatments Prudent 44® with Nutrol® (active ingredient; phosphite) and Ultim®, along with chemical seed treatments, had acceptable efficacy and improved stand establishment compared to the non-treated control across field locations. Based on efficacy results from laboratory and field trials, the copper seed treatment has potential for both conventional and organic hemp production.

Molecular Characterization of Drought Tolerant Genotypes of Pearl Millet [Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br.] for A1 Zone

Pearl millet is a widely grown, climate resilient rainfed cereal crop cultivated on 29 million ha in the arid and semi-arid tropical regions of Asia and Africa accounting for almost half of global millet production. It is useful for minimizing the adverse effect of climate change, hence facilitating income and food security among farming communities. It has deep root system and exhibit climate-resilient features including adaptation to a wide range of ecological conditions, less irrigational requirements, better growth and productivity in low nutrient input conditions, less dependent on synthetic fertilizers and minimum vulnerability to environmental stresses and thus can survive in harsh climatic conditions, less fertile soil under water scarcity. Breeding of drought tolerant varieties and selecting genotypes for better water use efficiency is important in pearl millet to mitigate the changing climatic scenario. In this study, 24 genotypes of pearl millet which are drought tolerant and specific for A1 zone were characterized using 15 drought specific SSR primers. All the 15 SSRs amplified products of varying sizes ranging between 90-550 bp. A total of 40 alleles were obtained in this study and the number of alleles per locus varied between 2 to 5 with an average of 2.67 alleles. Polymorphic Information Content (PIC) varied from 0.34 to 0.76 with an average of 0.53 PIC value. This study will be useful for developing high yielding, dual purpose cultivars for low rainfall areas i.e. A1 zone and increasing pearl millet productivity.

‘Zeitoun Ennour’: A new olive (Olea europaea L.) cultivar in Tunisia with high oil quality

An olive breeding program was started in Tunisia in 1993 in order mainly to improve the fatty acid composition of the local cultivar ‘Chemlali Sfax’. ‘Zeitoun Ennour’ is a new cultivar obtained from a cross between ‘Chemlali Sfax’ and the local dual-purpose use cultivar ‘Chemchali Gafsa’. The morphological study of this cultivar showed that eleven characters dealing with fruit and endocarp differed from ‘Chemlali Sfax’, mainly regarding to their respective weights. This new cultivar had the same sensitivity to Verticillium dahliae Kleb and earlier bearing than the original variety. Its olive production was considered as high as for ‘Chemlali Sfax’ but with partial self-compatibility and late maturity. The new cultivar realized a net improvement in comparison with the original cultivar particularly regarding its fatty acid composition with very high oleic acid content (>75 %) and low palmitic and linoleic acid contents (<10 %). The new cultivar was recently released and will be available for growers as soon as possible.

‘Zeitoun Ennour’: A new olive (Olea europaea L.) cultivar in Tunisia with high oil quality

An olive breeding program was started in Tunisia in 1993 in order mainly to improve the fatty acid composition of the local cultivar ‘Chemlali Sfax’. ‘Zeitoun Ennour’ is a new cultivar obtained from a cross between ‘Chemlali Sfax’ and the local dual-purpose use cultivar ‘Chemchali Gafsa’. The morphological study of this cultivar showed that eleven characters dealing with fruit and endocarp differed from ‘Chemlali Sfax’, mainly regarding to their respective weights. This new cultivar had the same sensitivity to Verticillium dahliae Kleb and earlier bearing than the original variety. Its olive production was considered as high as for ‘Chemlali Sfax’ but with partial self-compatibility and late maturity. The new cultivar realized a net improvement in comparison with the original cultivar particularly regarding its fatty acid composition with very high oleic acid content (>75 %) and low palmitic and linoleic acid contents (<10 %). The new cultivar was recently released and will be available for growers as soon as possible.

The Effect of Nitrogen Fertilization on the Yield, Quality and Fatty Acid Composition of Opuntia ficus-indica Seed Oil

Cactus pears are nutritious, drought-tolerant plants that flourish in hot and arid regions. All its plant parts can be consumed by humans and animals. Fruit seed oil production is an important emerging industry in South Africa. As part of an initiative to promote cactus pears as multi-functional crops, dual-purpose cultivars should be identified, and their production increased. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of nitrogen (N) fertilizer on the seed oil yield and quality of Opuntia ficus-indica. The project encompassed a trial using N fertilization from three N sources (limestone ammonium nitrate, ammonium sulfate, urea) and four N application levels (0, 60, 120, 240 kg ha−1). Oil was quantitatively extracted from the seed using the Folch method; fatty acids were quantified using a Varian 430-GC. Seed oil content significantly increased (p = 0.035) with increased N fertilization rates; the oil yield ranged between 7.96 and 9.54%. The composition of the main fatty acids (oleic, palmitic, cis-vaccenic and stearic acid) was significantly influenced; oleic and stearic acid were significantly increased by higher fertilization levels whereas a reducing trend was observed in palmitic and cis-vaccenic acid levels. The highest content fatty acid, linoleic acid, was not significantly influenced.

Associations between cannabinoids and growth stages of twelve industrial hemp cultivars grown outdoors in Atlantic Canada

Industrial hemp is increasingly grown and harvested for its cannabinoids of pharmaceutical interest. These compounds are generally obtained from plants harvested at maturity but not all cannabinoids are present or abundant during the last stage of hemp development. This study examined intraspecific cannabinoid variability during ontogenic development of hemp to identify growth stages and cultivars that optimize production of specific compounds. The cannabinoid content of twelve commercial industrial hemp (Cannabis sativa L. subsp. sativa) cultivars at three growth stages (i.e., flowering, grain filling and maturity) was determined by high performance liquid chromatography in an experimental field in Cocagne, New Brunswick, Canada. Most cannabinoids in acidic or neutral form were more abundant at maturity. However, cannabigerolic acid, a precursor to all acidic and neutral forms of cannabinoids mentioned in our study, was more abundant during the grain-filling stage. In contrast, cannabichromene was associated with the flowering stage and found in greater abundances in grain cultivars than in dual-purpose cultivars. The cultivar Katani exhibited higher concentrations of most cannabinoids while the cultivars Ferimon, Altair and Anka exhibited higher concentrations of cannabinoid acidic precursors. The current study could help optimize the targeted production of cannabinoids at specific growth stages and to identify the chemical phenotype of different hemp cultivars.

Assessing Forage Potential of the Global Collection of Finger Millet (Eleusine coracana (L.) Gaertn.) Germplasm Conserved at the ICRISAT Genebank

Finger millet is an important drought-tolerant and grain-nutrient dense food crop grown in semi-arid regions in Asia and Africa. The forage is used as a source of dry roughage for feeding livestock. In this study, the finger millet diversity panel (310 accessions and four controls) representing the global collection of the finger millet germplasm conserved at the ICRISAT genebank was assessed for forage quality and diversity in the years 2018 and 2019. Results of the study suggested that finger millet can generate stover yield ranging from 2890 to 10,779 kg ha−1. Finger millet forage contained 6.47% to 8.15% of crude protein, >90% of dry matter content, 11.47% to 14.17% of ash content, 62.36% to 67.73% of neutral detergent fiber (NDF), 33.07% to 38.37% of acid detergent fiber (ADF), 3.95% to 4.80% of acid detergent lignin (ADL), 6.18% to 6.89% of metabolizable energy (ME) and 45.21% to 49.09% of in vitro organic matter digestibility (IVOMD) with the grain yield of 810 to 3698 kg ha−1 at maturity stage. The per se performance between the races, regions, and biological status has been performed and differed significantly for important traits. The 314 accessions were grouped into five clusters based on the performance for food-feed traits. Except for crude protein, there was a positive relationship between forage quality-positive traits and grain yield, indicating that agronomic and forage quality traits could be improved simultaneously. The top 10 promising accessions for important forage quality traits and accessions with multiple forage quality traits were identified. This study provides a detailed understanding of the variability that exists in forage quality traits in crop residues and their association with agronomic traits in the finger millet germplasm. The identified top-performing accessions would be the key genetic resources for developing dual-purpose cultivars and the information from this study will be useful for future finger millet food-feed trait improvement.

Effect of complete diets containing different dual-purpose sorghum stovers on nutrient utilization and growth performance in sheep

The complete diets containing different dual-purpose sorghum stovers were evaluated for their comparative effect on nutrient utilization and growth performance of ram lambs. Twenty four Nellore x Deccani cross ram lambs of 4–6 months old (body weight, 14.39 ± 0.24 kg) were divided into four groups of six animals each in a completely randomized design. Experimental rations containing different sorghum stovers and concentrate ingredients were processed into mash and offered in the form of complete rations viz. local sorghum, Phule chitra, IS 12015 and IS 23143-based diets. Significant variations were found among the four sorghum cultivars (local Sorghum and 3 dual purpose cultivars: Phule chitra, IS 12015, and IS 23143) in all the chemical constituents, except for ether extract, calcium (Ca), and phosphorus (P). The effects on in vitro gas production parameters were not appreciable. The cultivar based complete rations did not influence the weekly body weight changes of lambs during 120-day growth trial. Dry matter intake (DMI) of lambs fed dual purpose sorghum stover based rations was significantly (P < 0.05) higher than the local sorghum stover based ration. Although the diets did not affect the feed conversion ratio (FCR), the dual purpose sorghum stover-based ration needed high cost per kg mutton production. The digestibilities of dry matter (DM), organic matter (OM) and total carbohydrates (TCHO) were higher (P < 0.05) in the rations prepared from the stovers of improved sorghum cultivars. The crude protein (CP) digestibility and nitrogen (N) balance was higher (P < 0.05) in lambs fed Phule chitra based ration. Even though the diets did not affect Ca and P balance, a tendency of lower (P = 0.09) urinary Ca and P retention was found in sheep fed local sorghum-based ration. It can be concluded that among the four evaluated sorghum cultivars, Phule chitra cultivar performed better in terms of growth and nutrient utilization.

Genetic analysis of dual-purpose sweetpotato genotypes using simple sequence repeat markers and phenotypic traits

ABSTRACT The new generation sweetpotato [Ipomoea batatas L. (Lam.)] varieties are valued as dual-purpose types for food and fodder in the crop-livestock mixed-farming systems in sub-Saharan Africa. The objective of this study was to determine the genetic diversity present among dual-purpose sweetpotato genotypes using simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers and phenotypic traits to identify complementary genotypes for direct production and breeding. Twenty-four sweetpotato genotypes were genotyped using nine selected and highly polymorphic SSR markers and dual-purpose phenotypic traits. The genotypes were field-evaluated using a randomized complete block design with three replications in two representative locations in Rwanda. Genotypes differed significantly (p < 0.05) for dual-purpose traits and other assessed phenotypic traits. Genotype “Ukerewe” had the highest fresh root yield (18.24 t ha−1), followed by genotype ‘8–1038ʹ (17.63 t ha−1). The top-performing genotypes for fresh vine yield were “Wagabolige” (23 t ha−1) and ‘NASPOT13ʹ (21.64 t ha−1). The mean expected heterozygosity value was 0.69, indicating adequate genetic variation in the tested germplasm. Cluster analysis grouped the genotypes into three distinct groups, which aided in the identification of genotypes with high fodder and storage root yields, which were SPK004 and K5132/61 from Group I; 4–160, Ukerewe and RW11-2910 from Group II; and RW11-1860, Wagabolige and 2005–179 from Group III. The identified genotypes should be useful genetic resources for production and development of high-performing dual-purpose sweetpotato cultivars in Rwanda.

Evaluation of Variety, Maturity, and Farm on the Concentrations of Monoterpene Diglycosides and Hop Volatile/Nonvolatile Composition in Five Humulus lupulus Cultivars.

Pentose-hexose monoterpene alcohol glycosides were isolated and semiquantitatively measured in dried Humulus lupulus cones using UHPLC-qTOF-MS/MS and HPLC fractionation followed by GC-MS. The samples evaluated included hop cones from five important dual-purpose cultivars (varieties) in the United States, from two locations (farms) per variety and from three distinct harvest time points (maturities) per location, as dictated by dry-matter (% w/w) at the time of harvest. Hop variety accounted for the biggest variation among the concentrations of pentose-hexose monoterpene alcohol glycosides as well as other volatile and nonvolatile chemical factors measured in the samples. This indicates that genetics plays a major role in hop flavor production. Interestingly, "maturity", or ripeness at the time of harvest, was the next most significant factor impacting the concentrations of pentose-hexose monoterpene alcohol glycosides along with most of the other volatile and nonvolatile factors (such as total oil concentration and composition). However, maturity notably had a bigger impact on some cultivars such as Sabro, Mosaic, Simcoe, and Citra. Surprisingly, farm (i.e., location, farming practices, etc.) accounted for the least amount of variation among the concentrations of the different analytical factors. These results highlight the importance of breeding/genetics as well as considering hop maturity/ripeness at the time of harvest on the production and subsequent development of analytical chemical factors associated with driving hoppy beer flavor. It is essential for future studies assessing the impact of different farming practices and locations (i.e., regionality, terroir, etc.) on the constituents in hops important for hoppy beer flavor to consider and account for the impact of hop maturity as well as genetics.

The Pruning Effect on the Storage Root Yield and Starch Content of Sweet Potato Clones Planted at Dry Land

Sweet potato is a dual-purpose crop, which could produce both food and feed. The vine pruning prior to storage root harvesting was intended to increase the quantity and quality of fresh forage for animal feed. This study aims to evaluate whether periodic pruning can affect the storage root yield and its starch content. This experiment employed split-plot design with two factors and three replications. The first factor as main plot was vine pruning which consisted of four distinct pruning times (four times, three times, twice and once). The second factor as sub-plot was cultivars which consisted of six dual-purpose cultivars and two controls. The storage root yields, vine yields, starch yields and the reduction in storage root yields were observed. The results showed that the vine pruning decreased the storage root yields, with small increases the vine yields. The percentage of the reduction in storage root yields were 4-58%, while the decrease vine yields are relatively inconsistent. The starch yield of the cultivars with one pruning time were in the range of 2.34-6.67 ton ha&lt;sup&gt;-1&lt;/sup&gt;. On the contrary, the three times pruning or more since 80 days after transplanted can reduce the starch yields for more than 50%. The slight increase in vines yield due to pruning was followed by the decrease in storage root yields and starch content of the sweet potato.

Interactions of Spring Cereal Genotypic Attributes and Recovery of Grain Yield After Defoliation.

Dual-purpose crops are grazed during their vegetative phase and allowed to regrow to produce grain. Grazing slow-developing winter cereals (wheat, barley, and triticale) is common, but there is also potential to graze faster-developing spring cereals used in regions with shorter-growing seasons. Defoliation in faster-developing genotypes has risks of larger yield penalties, however, little is known about genotypic characteristics that may improve recovery after grazing. Four experiments examined 7 spring wheat and 2 barley cultivars with differing physiological attributes (phenological development rate, putative capacity to accumulate soluble carbohydrates, and tillering capacity) that may influence the capacity of spring wheat to recover after defoliation. Defoliated and undefoliated crops were compared to assess physiological differences between cultivars including recovery of biomass, leaf area and radiation interception at anthesis, and subsequent crop grain yield and yield components. All genotypes had similar responses to defoliation treatments indicating that the physiological attributes studied played little part in mitigating yield penalties after defoliation. Despite some differences in yield components amongst cultivars, defoliation did not adversely affect cultivars with different yield component combinations under non-water limited conditions. Later and intense defoliation (around GS30/31) resulted in large yield penalties (40%) which reduced both grain number and kernel mass. However, earlier defoliation (before GS28) induced small or insignificant yield penalties. Defoliation often reduced canopy radiation interception and crop biomass at anthesis but this rarely translated into large yield penalties. These studies further demonstrate that shorter season spring cereals can provide valuable forage (up to 1.2 t DM/ha) for grazing during early vegetative growth without inducing large yield penalties. This study suggests that beyond appropriate phenology, there were no other specific characteristics of cultivars that improved the recovery after grazing. Hence farmers don’t need specific dual-purpose cultivars and can still focus on those that optimize grain yield potential for a particular environment and sowing date. The timing and intensity of defoliation appear to be larger drivers of yield recovery in spring cereals and better understanding of these relationships are needed to provide grazing management guidelines that mitigate risk of yield penalties in dual-purpose cereal crops.

Rice and wheat straw fodder trading in India: Possible lessons for rice and wheat improvement

Rice and wheat are globally dominant staple cereals and supply a substantial proportion of caloric intake in Low and Middle Income Countries (LMICs). Straw byproducts from these cereals form the basal diet for ruminant livestock across much of the developing world. Work with other cereals demonstrates the value placed on cereal straws and stovers by smallholder farmers indicated by their willingness to pay a quality premium. Despite this, breeding efforts have tended to disregard straw quality. Little is known about the marketing arrangements and the price dynamics for wheat and rice straws in LMICs. This study aimed to quantify volume and price of wheat and rice straw sales in Patna markets in Northern India. A survey was conducted covering 17 trading locations in Patna and Hajipur in 2008. 24 traders were surveyed with 12 trading only wheat straw, 11 trading only rice straw and 1 trading both straws. A detailed trader characterization survey was implemented to gather information on the history and structure of the business, suppliers, processing arrangements, customers and monthly trading volumes over the previous 12 months. Traders were then visited once per month for 12 months for collection of straw samples and price information. Results showed that traders had developed a series of 5 quality classes for straws based on sensory characteristics. There was reasonable agreement between trader quality class and specific sensory traits, notably “brightness”, “tastiness” and “purity” and quality classes also ranked similarly to prices for straws. Availability of straws of different qualities varied by month although straws of intermediate quality were available during most months and were the most prevalent straws in the markets surveyed. Taken across months, there was a price premium of 7 % in both rice and wheat straw for the “best” quality straw compared with “medium” quality straw. Wheat straw traded for prices around 19 % higher than rice straw on average. This price differential between wheat and rice straw was associated with higher nutritional quality. Within species, differences in nutritive value between straw quality classes were small. There were significant correlations between price and nutritional traits although these mainly related to differences between species rather than differences within species. Extrapolations from comparisons of available straw qualities in multidimensional rice and wheat improvement suggests that the value of traded rice and wheat straws could be increased by more than 60 % by promotion of superior rice and wheat dual purpose cultivars.

Yield and yield components of intercropped dual-purpose lablab and cowpea with maize of contrasting maturities

Intercropping is a way to intensify agricultural land use. Cowpea is an important crop in the traditional farming systems in northern Nigeria because it serves to provide food and feed. Although lablab has potential to function in these ways, it remains an underutilized crop because among other factors, there is dearth of information on its incorporation into the system by way of intercropping it with the major cereal crops. A field trial was conducted at Samaru (11o 11’N, 07o 38’E, 686 m asl) in northern Guinea savannah of Nigeria, to evaluate the relative yield and yield components of dual-purpose lablab and cowpea cultivars when gown sole and when intercropped with maize of contrasting maturities. The experiment was laid out in a split-plot design with four replications. The experiment consisted of early maize maturing cultivar (TZE COMP. 5 W) and a late maize maturing cultivar (TZL COMP. 1 SYN). Cropping system (intercropping and sole cropping) was assigned to the main plot and crop cultivar (lablab: ILRI 4612, NAPRI 2 and cowpea: IT89KD- 288, IT99K-241-2) was assigned to subplots. Results showed that intercropping cowpea or lablab into early maturing maize cultivar was more productive than intercropping into late maturing maize cultivar for number of pods (74.4 vs. 63.9), harvest index (0.22 vs. 0.20), grain yield (575.7 vs. 441.0) and fodder yield (2075.4 vs. 1758.2) for the legumes. Lablab cultivars had superior performance than cowpea for number of pods (113.5-114.2 vs. 81.1-81.5) and fodder yield (2968.9-3042.3 vs. 1725.4-1795.9 kg ha -1 ) whereas cowpea cultivars had superior performance than lablab for harvest index (0.29 vs. 0.17) and grain yield (802.3-833.9 vs. 587.8-632.4 kg ha -1 ), meaning that both legumes have potential in providing food and feed with lablab producing more fodder and cowpea more grain. Land equivalent ratio showed that intercropping advantage was higher when lablab and cowpea were intercropped with early maturing maize cultivar (1.34, 1.24) than with late maturing maize cultivar (1.10, 1.15). It is recommended that for higher lablab or cowpea/maize productivity in an intercrop, farmers should intercrop dual-purpose cultivars of these crops with maize of earlier maturities. Keywords: maize, lablab, cowpea, grain yield, fodder yield

Generation mean analysis for dual purpose traits in cowpea [vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp

A study was performed with three parental lines of cowpea and their F1, F2 and backcross generations to conduct generation mean analysis. Presence of high magnitude of additive x additive gene effects for green fodder yield in cross GC89 x C88 and cross GC89 x CL400, suggests that pedigree method could be the best breeding procedure for development of dual purpose cultivars. Based on the results of the study, it is suggested that in the presence of relatively large magnitude of non-allelic interactions for characters viz. vine length and green fodder yield per plant in cross GC89 x C88 and number of leaves in cross GC89 x CL400, selection has to be practiced within as well as between families by evaluating large number of segregating generations.

Dry Hopping with the Dual-Purpose Varieties Amarillo, Citra, Hallertau Blanc, Mosaic, and Sorachi Ace: Minor Contribution of Hop Terpenol Glucosides to Beer Flavors

The dual-purpose hop varieties Amarillo, Citra, Hallertau Blanc, Mosaic, and Sorachi Ace were recently shown to contain unusually high amounts of some discriminating terpenoids, polyfunctional thiols, and precursors of the latter (cysteine and glutathione adducts). The present work aimed to investigate the terpenol glucoside fraction in hops and its potential contribution to beer after a dry hopping process. Terpenols were quantified by stir-bar sorptive extraction GC-MS in five pilot monovarietal dry-hopped beers. In all of them, linalool and geraniol were found above their sensory thresholds (72–178 and 7–57 μg/L, respectively, for a threshold of 8 μg/L for linalool and 4 μg/L for geraniol). β-Citronellol also exceeded its threshold when the Amarillo, Citra, or Sorachi Ace cultivars were used. The hop glucoside potential was analyzed by GC-MS after enzymatic degradation. A relative hydrolysis efficiency factor was applied to our data to take into account that the commercial β-glucosidase releases octan-1-ol, used here as an internal standard, 2.8 times more efficiently than geraniol. β-Glucosidase treatment caused the release of linalool, α-terpineol, β-citronellol, and geraniol from all five dual-purpose cultivars, but in much lower amounts than the corresponding free terpenols (0.6–28.6 mg/kg of aglycons versus 7.8–109.2 mg/kg of free forms). Further quantitative analyses focusing on more traditional aromatic and bitter hops are now needed to compare their glucoside fractions with those here investigated.